23rd May 2023 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Top 10 for Alexander in Aramco Series Florida
22 May 2023 – Sunshine Ladies Tour winner Casandra Alexander carded her second successive three-over-par 75 on Sunday to finish in a share of 10th in the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series-Florida at Trump International in West Palm Beach.
Alexander overcame two double-bogeys on the front nine on her way to her final-round score, also making four birdies and a bogey in a roller-coaster start to the day. She had two more bogeys on the homeward nine as she moved to four-over-par for the tournament.
In the end, she was six shots behind the winner, Carlota Ciganda of Spain, who closed with a one-over 73 to hold off Klara Davidson Spilkova of the Czech Republic by one.
Lee-Anne Pace also had a closing 75, and she finished in a share of 28th on seven-over-par. Nicole Garcia had her second successive 78 to finish, and she was on 14-over in a share of 58th.
Written by Mike Green | satourgolf.co.za
13th May 2021 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Pace eyes record fourth at Investec SA Women’s Open
13 May 2021 – Lee-Anne Pace’s bid for an unprecedented fourth victory in the Investec South African Women’s Open got off to the ideal start with an opening round of 70, which earned the South African a share of the lead on two-under.
The Sunshine Ladies Tour’s most prolific winner was level through 15 holes at Westlake Golf Club she soared to summit with a timely eagle on the par-5 seventh.
Lydia Hall – another early morning starter – managed to get to three-under with a birdie on the par-3 15th, but a bogey on the next and two pars to finish for 70 left the Welsh golfer tied for the lead.
A number of players in the afternoon field tied to beat the clubhouse target and failed.
South African pair Nicole Garcia and former champion Tandi McCallum finished one shot adrift in joint third. Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson was four deep after nine holes, but slipped from contention with a double bogey at the 10th. A birdie finish for a round of 72 earned her a share of fifth with India’s Tvesa Malik.
Nine players tied for seventh on one-over, including Germany’s Karolin Lampert, the runner-up in 2018, and former Ladies European Tour winner Christine Wolf from Austria.
Pace closed out a record three successive victories in the flagship event at San Lameer in 2014, 2015 and 2017.
The nine-time Ladies European Tour winner has enjoyed 13 victories on home soil, winning every season since the Sunshine Ladies Tour launched in 2014. However, the winner’s circle has eluded the 40-year-old so far this year.
She certainly does appear to be trending towards a win after runner-up finishes in her last two starts and the veteran rolled back the years with a vintage display in perfect conditions in City of Cape Town.
Pace reversed an early bogey at the 12th with birdie at the next, followed by a string of pars until she eagled the 456m (499y), par five seventh.
“It was three great shots,” said Pace. “I went with the driver so I could push it a little further down the fairway. I had 220 to the pin, 194 front, which is the perfect 3-wood for me. It bounced straight, which was nice, and I rolled in a six-foot putt.”
The Investec Order of Merit leader has a slew of goals this week – a fourth Investec SA Women’s Open title, a spot in the U.S. Women’s Open, a fourth Investec Order of Merit win, a fast start to the Ladies European Tour season, the Investec Homegrown Award and building form for the Olympic Games.
“I have a lot on my mind, for sure, but you just try to push it back and play one shot at a time. I am just trying to hit the fairways and the greens, because it’s so important here. The greens are smaller this week, so if you hit them, you always have a birdie chance.
“I wanted a fast start, but I knew it was playing tough. I thought anything around level-par or a bit under would be good enough. So I am breaking the big goals into small goals, and I reached one of them today.”
Lydia Hall from Wales fired an opening two-under-par 70 to finish in a two-way share of the lead in the Investec South African Women’s Open at Westlake Golf Club.
Hall certainly didn’t regret her last minute decision to make the trip to South Africa.
“I was still undecided 30 minutes before the entries closed, but I decided to do it because I have done well here in the past,” said Hall, who offset a pair of bogeys with four birdies.
“The course is so much greener that we are used to seeing it in March. And it was a little wetter than normal. It’s playing quite a bit longer, off the back tips this year, but the set-up is good. It’s a good test.”
Hall tied for ninth in 2018 and fifth a year later – another reason she was keen to start the 2021 Race to Costa Del Sol in South Africa.
“I just really like this course. It’s tight off the tee and you have to shape a lot of shots off the tees and into the greens; that’s something I like doing,” Hall said. “And the greens here are so pure. Where you start it is where it goes. It stays on line.
“I hit a lot of fairways and greens, which is key to scoring well on this course. I had one or two errant tee shots and two bad iron shots, but I’ll head to the range to work out the kinks. With an afternoon start on Friday, I expect the course will be a lot drier and the greens will firm up, so I am pretty happy to start the week on two under.”
SOCIAL MEDIA THIS WEEK
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Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the Sunshine Ladies Tour.
12th May 2021 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Three things to look out for at Westlake
With the start of the 2021 Ladies European Tour season just 24 hours away and with four spots up for grabs in the U.S. Women’s Open, here are three things to look out for at the 2021 Sunshine Ladies Tour season-finale Investec South African Women’s Open.
Home favourites gearing up for start of LET season
A whole host of South African names will be teeing it up at Westlake Golf Club including 2010 LET Order of Merit winner Lee-Anne Pace.
The nine-time LET tournament winner – who finished 51st on last season’s Race to Costa del Sol – has recorded five top-ten finishes on this year’s Sunshine Ladies Tour and hopes to repeat the success of her 2014 South African Women’s Open triumph.
At the Jabra Ladies Classic back in April, Nicole Garcia tied for second and has had a further top-ten finish on the Sunshine Ladies Tour.
Last year’s Investec Order of Merit winner Monique Smit has three top-ten finishes to her name this year, while Lejan Lewthwaite claimed third place at the Cape Town Ladies Open at the start of last month.
Another home hope is Casandra Hall, who has been in excellent form so far in 2021.
A ninth-place finish at the Cape Town Ladies Open was followed by ties for 14th and 7th at the next two events before the 20-year-old clinched victory at the Joburg Ladies Open and secured a joint runner-up finish at last week’s Dimension Data Ladies Challenge.
Recent winners buoyant heading to Westlake
South African Hall hasn’t been the only LET member to find success on the Sunshine Ladies Tour in recent weeks.
France’s Manon Gidali secured her first professional win at the opening event of the 2021 Sunshine Ladies Tour season. The 27-year-old holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole of the Cape Town Ladies Open to triumph over Cara Gorlei.
Last season the French golfer, who finished 33rd on the Race to Costa del Sol, tied for fourth at the Investec SA Women’s Open and will be hoping to carry her good form with her.
Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord has also had a successful time while in South Africa, claiming joint seventh and 16th in her first two starts before winning the Dimension Data Ladies Challenge in a four-way play-off.
It was the 35-year-old’s 10th professional victory and her second on South African soil. One of Skarpnord’s four victories on the LET came at the 2013 South African Women’s Open and she will be hoping to continue the momentum built so far in South Africa.
Solheim Cup stalwart tees it up in South Africa
Another star teeing it up at Westlake Golf Club will be Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall, who has been an integral member of the European Solheim Cup Team in recent years. She has made appearances at the 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2019 – winning on three occasions – and claimed 8.5 points during that time.
Last season, Hedwall made six appearances on the LET and recorded two top-5 finishes, including joint third in the Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic and third at The Saudi Ladies International. She finished the season ranked 17th.
The 31-year-old also produced one of the shots of the season when she sunk a hole-in-one in Dubai. With the Solheim Cup just a few months away, Hedwall will be looking for a fast start the LET season in Cape Town.