21st February 2020 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Turner triumphs in Standard Bank SA Women’s Masters
20 February 2020 – It took three trips down the 18th in a playoff before Scotland’s Jane Turner emerged victorious over South Africa’s Cara Gorlei in the Standard Bank South Africa Women’s Masters at San Lameer Country Club on Friday.
Starting the day with a three-shot lead, Turner struggled to a one-over 73 to finish on one-under alongside Gorlei, who carded a two-under 70.
In the playoff, Turner had the measure of the par-four 18th and narrowly missed a birdie attempt – but the tap-in was enough to give her the win.
“I had to hole a long putt to get into the playoff, which was a fantastic feeling,” said Turner.
“That was the hole we played in the playoff. Every single tee shot I hit in the playoff, there was only a three-yard difference to what I had left in for my approaches. So I had the approach dialled in by the end of the playoff.”
While Turner battled in the final round, Milnerton rookie Gorlei – who led the first round – was making a charge for the title.
The pair were tied after eight holes with Turner one-over and Gorlei two-under. On 11, Turner double-bogey to fall two behind before Gorlei moved three-ahead with a gain on the 12th. But two closing birdies for Turner, including a vital birdie on the last helped her reel her opponent in.
“Cara was three-under par at one point during her round, and I made a double bogey on the 11th – but after that I got stuck in. I knew I could still make the birdies, I just had to stay patient and calm.
“My score doesn’t reflect that I was very calm heading into the round today. I wasn’t overly nervous, and just stuck to my game plan.
“I am hugely honoured to win the Standard Bank SA Women’s Masters. A number of really great golfers have won this title in the past, and I’m so thrilled to add my name to the winner’s list.”
The Scotswoman, who celebrated her maiden Sunshine Ladies Tour win last season in the SuperSport Ladies Challenge at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club, hinted that this could be the start of a strong run for her this season.
“I achieved my first win this year, but that doesn’t mean it’s my last one. My main goal was to win, but now that I’ve done it I can go on and win more. There are four more tournaments on the Sunshine Ladies Tour before I go back home to Europe, so it’s already been a great start to the season.”
And the next one could happen this weekend.
Buoyed by the victory, the confident 30-year-old was excited to hop on a plane on Friday evening, to take up her place in the limited field for the Canon Serengeti Par 3 Challenge – a new event on the Sunshine Ladies Tour.
“You know, it’s a great innovation by the Sunshine Tour and Sergengeti to be hosting a unique event like this,” said Turner.
“The thing about a par three tournament is that being a big hitter isn’t necessarily an advantage, but it places a big emphasis on shot-making. We as professionals and the fans love to see what kind of shots we can come up with. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun, and there is a lot of prize money on the table. It’s definitely a new kind of excitement, because you might not get the usual suspects at the top of the leaderboard.”
Sharing third were Monique Smit and Kim Williams on one-over, with Bonita Bredenhahn and Bianca Lohbauer tied fifth on six over.
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Released by Lali Stander on behalf of the Sunshine Ladies Tour, WPGA and World Sports Promotions.
16th October 2019 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Dlamini dominates in wind to lead at Selborne
SELBORNE, 15 October 2019 – Nobuhle Dlamini lined up her fourth victory this season when she tamed the wind to take the lead in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series at Selborne Golf Estate, Spa and Hotel on Tuesday.
Teeing off in a three-to-four club wind that raced around the championship layout on the KwaZulu-Natal coast, the big-hitting Swazi golfer was in imperious form.
Dlamini fired six birdies, including three over the four closing holes, to offset a double bogey at the par five third and further drops on six and 17 and a two-under-par 70 propelled the 2019 Investec Property Fund Order of Merit winner straight to the top of the leaderboard.
The 36-hole women’s event is played concurrently with the Vodacom Origins of Golf Pro-Am and serves as the curtain-raiser for Sunshine Tour’s main tournament.
Dlamini leads by three shots from Sunshine Ladies Tour regular Lauren Taylor and is five shots clear of reigning SA Women’s Masters champion Lejan Lewthwaite.
Taylor got off to a birdie start and eagled the third. The English golfer three-under after 10 holes, but she gave shots back to the field with successive bogeys on 12 and 13 and dropped a further three shots after a final birdie on the par four 14th to post a one-over 73.
Lewthwaite overcame a bogey-bogey start with birdies on three and nine and made two more on the bounce after the turn to dip two-under, but her good work was undone with double bogeys on 14 and 15 and a third bogey on 16 will see the Serengeti golfer start the final round on three-over.
Jane Turner withstood the wind for three days at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club to win the 2019 SuperSport Ladies Challenge, presented by Sun International, but the Scottish golfer also had trouble navigating the strong winds on Tuesday and carded four-under 76 to finish fourth.
Serengeti’s Casandra Hall – already a two-time winner in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series – posted 82 and fellow rookie Brittney-Fay Berger from Kloof Country Club signed for 83.
More wind is forecast for today’s final round, but a later start could see the chasing pack go low enough to catch Dlamini.
Written and released by Lali Stander.
28th February 2019 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Turner cruises to victory at Wild Coast
28 February 2019 – Scot Jane Turner produced a stunning display of front running golf as she fired a closing two-under 68 to win the SuperSport Ladies Challenge, presented by Sun International, by four shots at the Wild Coast Country Club on Thursday.
The Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club player ended on a four-under 206 total, four ahead of her nearest challenger and defending champion Nobuhle Dlamini. The three-time Sunshine Tour winner carded rounds of 68 72 and 70, meaning Turner was the only player to finish under par for the week.
In third on her own was fellow Scot Gabrielle Macdonal of Craigelaw Golf Club on two-over after rounds of 72 70 70. Sunshine Ladies Tour rookie Kelsey Nicholas, who plays out of Royal Johannesburg and Kensington, finished a further shot adrift after posting scores of 78 68 67.
England’s Kiran Matharu and another Scot Hannah McCook – in her second start as a professional – tied for fifth on four-over with GolfRSA Elite Squad star Kajal Mistry.
The 18-year-old Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation member, who lost in a play-off in last week’s SA Women’s Masters, won the leading amateur prize for a second week running.
Turner began her round with a birdie three on the second after chipping in for birdie when it looked like a bogey was on the cards. That was just the impetus she needed, as she picked up two more gains before the turn.
On the 10th, she holed a long putt for birdie to get to six-under and open a five-shot lead over Dlamini. Two bogeys in a final three holes ultimately mattered little, as the 29-year-old had done enough to claim an emphatic triumph.
“It feels amazing what I was able to do today,” said Turner. “I can’t even begin to describe what this feels like. I have no control of what anyone else does, so I needed to keep the ball in play and hit greens in regulation and make my birdies.
“Once the putts started dropping, it gave me confidence. I actually holed a great putt on 10 for birdie. Everything just came together.”
The bogeys on 16 and 17, made it a slightly more nervy finish for Turner – but she said her mind-set still remained the same.
“I had my first bogey of the day on 16 and just like nine yesterday, it was because of a bad drive,” she said. ‘I almost managed to save my par, but left the putt short. 17 was just a bad three-putt – my first one of the week.
“The mind-set was the same coming down 18, hit the fairway and hit the green and I almost made my birdie.”
Turner has a category 12 exemption (meaning limited status) on the Ladies European Tour (LET), but has tasted victory once before as a professional at the 2017 Bossey Ladies event on the LET Access Series.
“This is my second win and they both sit right up there. It’s a fabulous feeling to know you’re going home with a trophy – although I’m not sure how it’s going to fit on the plane!”
The win at the Wild Coast though, will give Turner a massive confidence boost as she heads to the Cape Town Ladies Open and then the Investec South African Women’s Open in two weeks, where the winner will receive full exemption on the LET for the rest of the season.
“The SA Open will be a great springboard for any player who does well there,” Turner said. “It gives me a lot of confidence knowing I put together a lot of birdies this week, and I just need to keep that going in Cape Town.”
In response to the question why the purple shirts on the final day, Turner responded.
“I was diagnosed with epilepsy almost seven years ago. I do my bit to raise awareness for the condition and I hope to make a tradition of wearing purple in the final round, because purple is the colour for all epilepsy charities. Under Armour give me my clothing, and there are quite a few purple tee shirts. So all my final days are going to be purple, just like Tiger and his red.”
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Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the Sunshine Ladies Tour and WPGA.
27th February 2019 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Turner surges ahead at Wild Coast
27 February 2019 – Scot Jane Turner fired a second successive 69 to forge a two-shot lead on two-under at the summit of the leaderboard at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club on Wednesday in the second round of the SuperSport Ladies Challenge presented by Sun International.
The Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club player carded six birdies, including three in row from the 15th, to open a gap between herself and Nobuhle Dlamini.
The defending champion Nobuhle Dlamini is on level par following rounds of 68 and 72, three shots ahead of Chloe Williams from Wales, who returned rounds of 69 and 72.
GolfRSA Elite Squad member Kajal Mistry is in the mix for a third straight week going into the final round.
The 18-year-old Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation golfer registered a 72 to grab a share of fourth on two-over with Scottish rookie Gabrielle Macdonald and overnight leader Jessica Dreesbeimdieke. Macdonald carded 70, while the lanky Namibian battled to a second round 76.
Testament to her focus, the 29-year-old Turner was so engrossed in her round that she didn’t know she had surged ahead of the field.
“I didn’t even know I had a two-shot lead. I’ll just have to do the same tomorrow,” said Turner.
“It was pretty windy out there with strong crosswinds, but I managed to keep control over everything and I holed some really good putts. That helped me recover from the little double bogey on nine.
“I actually holed quite a long putt on the 17th, and the previous two were good approach shots. You could actually, if you were quite aggressive, reach the 16th in two. I did that and two-putted for my birdie.”
Lurking ominously though is three-time Sunshine Ladies Tour winner Dlamini.
By her own admission, Dlamini admitted that she didn’t play her best golf in the second round, but she was confident about her chances going into the final round.
“It was a tough day today from the star to the finish. I hit a lot of greens in regulation,” said Dlamini. “It wasn’t great overall. The back nine played really tough with the South-East wind. I’ll take it though. I’m level par, and two behind and still within reach.
“There’s nothing to stress about really. I’m going to go work on my putting now, and hopefully I’ll be sharper for tomorrow.”
The 27-year-old holds second place on the Investec Property Fund Order of Merit, following her win in the Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am two weeks ago, and a fifth place finish last week at the SA Women’s Masters.
The consistent play of Dlamini has seen her remain in line for the first title defence of her career at the scene of her breakthrough victory on tour.
“I think I’ve been quite consistent even when it’s not been going so well and holding my score together. Tomorrow I’ll have to chase a little bit harder, but I’ll also need to be cautious about what is happening around me.”
For the 23-year-old Williams, meanwhile, the chance to play in the final group will be a challenge she is relishing.
“I’m really happy with my putting at the minute; it’s come a long way actually,” said the Wrexham Golf Club player. “I’ve really struggled the last 12 months and it has taken time to come right.
“My entire game has kind of been in-and-out so I’ve had to be patient. But it seems to be coming together nicely. I’m really happy with where I am. I like being in the hunt going into the last day, rather than just trying to protect a score.
“The last time I was in the final group was over 18 months ago. I’m really looking forward to it.”
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Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the Sunshine Ladies Tour and WPGA.