21st March 2023 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Garcia breaks into World Top 200
21 March 2022 – South Africa’s Nicole Garcia’s good performance in the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series-Singapore last week has seen her move inside the world’s top 200 in the latest Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
Garcia led for two of the three rounds, and battled hard for her eventual share of 11th, and that gave her a nine-place boost to 192nd. The resulting nine-spot boost sees the Sunshine Ladies Tour winner join Ashleigh Buhai, Paula Reto and Lee-Anne Pace inside the world’s top 200, joining Lee-Anne Pace, Paula Reto and Ashleigh Buhai.
The big climber inside South Africa’s top 10 was rookie Kaleigh Telfer – again – who was up 48 places to 522nd this week after her 613-place jump last week. She leapfrogged Stacy Bregman to become the sixth-best South African player according to the rankings.
Casandra Alexander moved up to 261st and remains number five on the list of South Africa’s top 10.
Buhai was up one place to 15th despite not playing, and ahead of the resumption of the LPGA Tour season at the LPGA Drive On Championship this week.
Reto was up two to 51st, and she too will play in Arizona this week.
SOUTH AFRICAN TOP 10
Ashleigh Buhai 15 (up 1)
Paula Reto 51 (up 2)
Lee-Anne Pace 149 (up 1)
Nicole Garcia 192 (up 9)
Casandra Alexander 261 (up 5)
Kaleigh Telfer 522 (up 48)
Stacy Bregman 532 (down 10)
Kiera Floyd 654 (down 5)
Nadia van der Westhuizen 655 (down 2)
Lejan Lewthwaite 818 (down 7)
SOURCE: Mike Green | www.satourgolf.co.za
19th March 2023 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
South Africans shine in Sunshine Ladies Tour’s season yet
19 March 2023 – While England’s Lily May Humphreys won the 2023 Investec Order of Merit in the 10th season of the Sunshine Ladies Tour, three South Africans finished in the top five, underscoring the importance of the burgeoning circuit for local players.
Humphreys played all six tournaments, won one, had four other top 10s, and her worst finish was in the Investec South African Women’s Open Championship at Steenberg Golf Club when she shared 24th.
South Africa’s Casandra Alexander played four, won two – the SuperSport Ladies Challenge and Jabra Ladies Classic – and a share of seventh at Steenberg saw her finish second in the rankings, within striking distance of Humphreys at the end.
The other South Africans who rounded out the top five were Sunshine Ladies Tour rookie Kaleigh Telfer, who had three top-10s as she successfully mixed it up with the best players from Europe, and veteran Lee-Anne Pace, who did everything but win with four top-10s.
In a nice little bit of symmetry, the two other South Africans inside the top 10 of the Order of Merit were rookie Kiera Floyd in ninth with two top-10s, and the more experienced Nicole Garcia in 10th place, who also had two top-10s.
“It’s pretty cool to win the Investec Order of Merit,” said Humphreys. “I’m pretty happy about it. It’s been as good as I’ve played. It’s been a lot of golf, a lot of different golf courses, and different weather pretty much every week. I’ve really enjoyed it out here.
“I ran out of steam a little towards the end. It wasn’t my best golf over the last few days at Steenberg, but I’ll just reset and get ready for what lies ahead. I’ll definitely come back and play these events again. I’ll have to see how the schedule looks because I’m a winner now. I’ll have a full schedule on the Ladies European Tour, which is pretty exciting.”
And this is exactly the pathway which makes the Sunshine Ladies Tour such an important route for budding professionals.
Humphreys got her win in the Joburg Open, co-sanctioned between Africa’s premier women’s professional circuit and the Ladies European Tour. It was the fifth event of the 10th season and she had played her way into a position to win and leapfrog her way into the big time.
And while it was AIG Women’s Open champion Ashleigh Buhai who won the other co-sanctioned tournament, Telfer was able to convert her top-five finish in the Investec South African Women’s Open into a start on the main Ladies European Tour circuit with a place in the Aramco Team Series-Singapore the following week.
That is a stepping stone which could be decisive in her budding professional career.
Buhai talked about the importance of the local tour ahead of her victory at Steenberg: “Obviously it’s fantastic to see how it’s grown, how the sponsors are starting to support women’s golf in South Africa. And you can see it in the trends in women’s golf around the world. All prize purses are starting to increase.
“I think it’s so important to have these events for the local girls to be able to compete in, so they play on better courses, with a stricter set up that compares well with the international circuits, and in stronger fields so that they know when they’re ready to take that next step and where they really need to be.
“With six events on the tour now, I think there’s space for growth. I think if we could get it to double figures at least would be great. And also not just to have the circuit from February through April, but to extend it. They need to play all year-round to prepare better for the next level. Maybe two a month at least. We understand that the purses might not be what it is in these big events, but it’s more just about being able to play, getting that game time.
“It doesn’t matter how much money you’re playing for, or how big or small the tournament is. When you’re in that moment, it doesn’t matter. It’s the same pressure of you trying to win a golf tournament.”
The groundwork for growth has been laid. The women played for R1.075-million 10 years ago, and for over R16-million this year on the Sunshine Ladies Tour. The six tournaments are all big in their own right, and the way forward is clear. Roll on 2024!
| Sunshine Ladies Tour
Garcia battles hard to share 11th in Aramco Team Series-Singapore
19 March 2023 – Nicole Garcia battled hard on Saturday for her share of 11th place in the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series-Singapore at Laguna National Golf Club.
Garcia, who co-led going in to the final round at seven-under, started with an early birdie on the second hole, but she made four bogeys and a double during the rest of the round. She made two more birdies as she carded a three-over 75.
Meanwhile, France’s Pauline Roussin was racing away to an eight-under-par 64 to storm to her second Ladies European Tour title by four shots from American Danielle Kang, who signed off with a four-under 68.
World number one Lydia Ko finished third on 10-under, five strokes off the pace, after she closed with a 66.
Casandra Alexander had a two-under 70 to finish up on one-over and Kaleigh Telfer struggled to a three-over 75 in the final round to join Alexander in a share of 28th.
India’s Aditi Ashok continues to lead the way at the top of the standings in the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol with 1,210 points.
Spain’s Ana Pelaez Trivino, following her runner-up finishes in the Joburg Ladies Open and Investec South African Women’s Open, held on for second place with 777.33 points, while Roussin shot to third with 569 points.
South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai is fourth (545.19), England’s Lily May Humphreys, who won the 2023 Investec Order of Merit, is fifth (532) and England’s Alice Hewson is sixth (513.83). Garcia sits at No 18 on 239.86 and Alexander rounds out the top 20 with 211.50 points.
SOURCE: Mike Green | www.satourgolf.co.za
21st February 2023 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Garcia targeting Jabra Ladies Classic opportunities
Garcia targeting Jabra Ladies Classic opportunities
GLENDOWER, 21 February 2023 – Nicole Garcia returns to South Africa this week fresh from a solid result in Saudi Arabia to tee it up in the Sunshine Ladies Tour’s Jabra Ladies Classic, which gets underway on Wednesday at Glendower Golf Club.
It’s the fifth edition of the popular tournament, and it presents an intriguing challenge on one of the best championship layouts in South Africa.
And just in case the R1-million prize fund is not enough, the winner of the Jabra Ladies Classic receives an invitation to compete in the Jabra Ladies Open on the Ladies European Tour.
“I played well enough for my 24th place in a good field,” said Garcia, “but Glendower presents a very different challenge to the course in Saudi. My short game was solid, but not so much off the tee. The fairways were wide over there, and Glendower is going to demand more precision. I’m going to work on that ahead of the tournament.”
Garcia is joined in the field by two other players fresh from the Ladies European Tour tournament in Saudi Arabia, Lee-Anne Pace and Casandra Alexander.
Pace, the reigning Investec South African Women’s Open champion, was the top South African finisher in the field last week. She also finished in a share of fourth in the Jabra Ladies Classic last year behind the winner Linn Grant of Sweden, who went on to have a dominating year on the Ladies European Tour after dominating in her rookie season on the Sunshine Ladies Tour.
Alexander, who tied for fourth with Pace at Glendower last year, won the opening tournament on the Sunshine Ladies Tour this year when she took the SuperSport Ladies Challenge at Gary Player Country Club in Sun City at the beginning of February.
While she missed the cut in Saudi Arabia, Alexander had a share of 13th the week before on the Ladies European Tour in Morocco as she continued her good form from her victory.
Garcia was 19th in last year’s Jabra Ladies Classic, but she was a runner-up in 2021 and knows what the former SA Open venue demands. And, with her Ladies European Tour experience, she knows the value of a good performance at Glendower – in fact, in any of the Sunshine Ladies Tour events.
“It’s a great incentive for those players who play on the Sunshine Ladies Tour and won’t ordinarily get in to the Jabra Ladies Open,” said Garcia. “In fact, getting a good start in South Africa is good for anyone, and some good results on this tour will set me up nicely for a stress-free year in Europe.”
Local rookie Kiera Floyd is certainly one player who would benefit from a win at Glendower.
A former Ekurhuleni Women’s Open winner at the championship layout, she finished third as a 14-year-old inexperienced amateur in the inaugural event in 2019, and the 19-year-old is coming into this year’s tournament wiser, more mature and in form after finishing an impressive second in last week’s Cape Town Ladies Open in challenging conditions at Atlantic Beach Links.
Besides the South African players looking to grasp the opportunity offered at home, there are players from 27 other countries in the field of 112 players.
Notable amongst those, based on her performances in the first three tournaments and her lead on the Order of Merit, Lily May Humphreys of England. With finishes of third, fourth and eighth, she has been contending week-in and week-out and will surely put it all together soon.
Also from England, last week’s winner Hayley Davis showed great grit through windy conditions in Cape Town and will feel that playing on the highveld is a breeze after claiming a three-shot victory.
9th February 2023 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Garcia’s laughter exactly what Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am is about
Nicole Garcia gets exactly what the Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am is all about, and, with her success in other pro-am events around the world, that makes her one of the favourites for the Sunshine Ladies Tour event which tees off on Friday at Fancourt.
Each contestant will play one round on Montagu and Outeniqua at Fancourt, and the final round will be played on Montagu. The field is made up of 40 professionals. The cut will be to 20 players & ties, after round two. The professionals will each be paired with an amateur, and they will play betterball medal, with the best nett score to count. There will be a cut to the leading 10 teams at the conclusion of the second round.
Garcia led teams which won two of the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series events last year, and, being part of a team – as well as its leader – is right in her wheelhouse as one of the sunniest and most gregarious players on the circuit.
“I’m a people person,” said Garcia, “and when I play events like these, I get into helping people, and playing for something bigger than just myself. It’s good to get out of the isolation of being an individual professional golfer, and to interact with people for a cause.”
The purse has been bumped from R600,000 in 2021 to a staggering R2.5-million. In addition, the leading 10 teams on the final day will fight it out for the lion’s share of the R100,000 prize pot.
“With just 40 players in the field, and that fantastic growth in prize money, it’s more important than ever for players to support events like this,” said Garcia. “I’m even sacrificing a couple of practice days in Saudi Arabia ahead of next week’s tournament to support this event. It’s an opportunity to solidify the growth of the Sunshine Ladies Tour, and, hopefully, with continued growth in prize funds, the field for the tournament can grow too.”
With Garcia in the field is five-time Investec South African Women’s Open champion Lee-Anne Pace, and, while she faded last week at Sun City after a solid start, she should soon be back to her best and posing a formidable threat at the top of the leaderboard.
The foreign challenge is also formidable: Dorthea Forbrigd of Norway, France’s Camille Chevalier and Lily May Humphreys finished from second to fourth behind last week’s winner Casandra Alexander, and will relish the challenge posed by the Fancourt courses.
With Alexander off to Morocco for the Ladies European Tour tournament there, Cara Gorlei of South Africa is the leading South African player from last week’s tournament in the field at Fancourt, after she finished in a share of fourth with Chevalier.
But, after Pace, Garcia was next-best South African finisher last week, in a share of 10th. And expect her laughter to ring out around Fancourt as she supports one of the most important tournaments for the future of women’s professional golf in South Africa.
As Sunshine Tour commissioner Thomas Abt said, “The Dimension Data Pro-Am is one of our most important tournaments in both legacy and inclusion through its celebration of and commitment to the men’s and women’s game on the Sunshine Tour and Sunshine Ladies Tour, and we’re privileged to have Dimension Data as a longstanding sponsor and partner who shares our vision to keep driving the game forward and create opportunities for our professionals.”
2nd June 2021 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Pace will need her experience in US Women’s Open
2 June 2021 – Major championship golf, by and large, demands experience as a contributor to success, and Lee-Anne Pace has played in 33 majors ahead of the US Women’s Open which tees off on Thursday at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.
The reigning Investec South African Women’s Open champion played her way into her seventh US Women’s Open with her victory on May 16 at Westlake Golf Club, and will be drawing on her experience in those six previous visits to the tournament to try and improve on her best finish of 43rd in 2017.
Her victory at Westlake came under trying circumstances, mostly as a result of the weather, but those would have prepared her to hang in there when the going will get tough as it inevitably does in any major championship. In the last three US Women’s Opens, of the 59 players who have played eight rounds or more, only five have cumulative scores of under par.
Lee-Anne Pace (credit Petri Oeschger/Sunshine Ladies Tour)
Pace will know that hanging in is making sure the simple things are done right, and that hitting fairways and greens will give her the best chance of making whatever few birdies are on offer.
The past 15 champions have shown well-rounded games en route to victory, but they have shone most brightly around the green. While they ranked 20th in the field on average in driving distance (249.6 yards) and about 25th in fairways hit (73.4 percent), they truly separated themselves by hitting 69.1 percent of the greens in regulation. They were on average third in the field with 3.96 birdies/eagles per round and had 29.3 putts per round.
The South African has a good record over a long Ladies European Tour career in terms of greens in regulation, hitting 62.8 percent of them over 183 tournaments, but she will be aware that she will have to make very sure of her accuracy throughout the week at the Olympic Club. And her putting over those many tournaments in Europe averages out at 30.04 per round.
She has the tools to go with her experience, but she is not the most experienced of the three South Africans in the field.
Ashleigh Buhai has 36 majors behind her, and will be playing in her eighth US Women’s Open with a best finish of 27th in 2017. With her experience in the United States – she plays on the LPGA Tour – she may well have a sense of comfort during a difficult week.
The third South African in the field is Nicole Garcia, who first qualified for the US Women’s Open at Pinehurst in 2014 through the European qualifier in England. Like Pace, she got in to this year’s tournament at the Olympic Club with her performance in the Investec SA Women’s Open at Westlake.
The tournament gets full coverage on SuperSport channel 201 from 11pm on Thursday.
Written by Mike Green for satourgolf.co.za
14th May 2021 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Garcia gains ground at windy Westlake
14 May 2021 – Nicole Garcia will take a one-shot lead into the weekend at the Investec South African Women’s Open after the course showed its teeth on Friday.
Taking advantage of an early start, Garcia picked up three birdies in a second round 73 at Westlake Golf Club to set the early clubhouse target at level-par.
With first-round leaders Lee-Anne Pace and Lydia Hall starting day two on two-under, the Serengeti golfer was hoping to finish in the top three, but a brutal North Westerly that gusted up to 35km per hour in the afternoon helped the three-time Sunshine Ladies Tour winner to the summit.
“I’m pretty happy with that,” said Garcia, who leads by one shot from three-time champion Pace and Germany’s Leonie Harm.
”If you had offered me rounds of 71 and 73 at the start of the week, I may have grumbled, but after the wind showed up on our back nine, I’m not complaining. It was pretty calm over the first 12 holes, but the last six holes played really tough. I suspected it would only get worse, but I didn’t expect to be leading. It’s a great position to be in with two rounds to play.”
Pace struck the ball well, but struggled for pace on the greens and she had a trio of three-putts in her round of 75 to finish joint second one-over. Harm, who also had a late start, made amends for back-to-back bogeys on 11 and 12 with a brace of birdies on 16 and 17 for a round of 72.
Kylie Henry also showed her affinity for windy conditions with an eagle at the par-5 13th and the Scottish golfer finished the day in fourth, just two behind Garcia after carding 72.
Garcia enjoyed her best season on the Ladies European Tour in 2018, but after finishing 47th in the Race to Costa del Sol, a hip and back injury put paid to her hopes of chasing down a maiden win in 2019.
“I spent the bulk of the season on the bench after surgery,” she explained. “I began hitting balls and preparing for a comeback on the 2020 Sunshine Ladies Tour late in the year, and I was thrilled with how I performed over the seven weeks.”
Garcia enjoyed three top 10 finishes and added the Canon Serengeti Par-3 Challenge to her winning tally.
“I was ready to take Europe by storm, but we no sooner kicked off the Ladies European Tour season here at Westlake, or it was over, due to the international Covid-19 pandemic,” she said. “It was a huge blow. I managed to play It has been two very frustrating years, so I am seriously pleased to make a good start. My ticket is booked for Italy next week and I can’t wait to get back out there.”
Nicole Garcia took the 36-hole lead in the Investec South African Women’s Open with a round of 73 to top the leaderboard at Westlake Golf Club on level par; credit Shannon Naidoo.
Garcia described her round as a “fighter’s round”.
“I hit some really good shots off the tee, but I got a few unlucky bounces and had some soft drops. I made some really good clutch putts for birdies to recover and to keep the momentum going.
“The course is in the best condition I’ve ever played it, but it is playing very long. Every single tee box is off the tips. You have to hit fairways and greens to score here, but I think it’s a great test. It’s a U.S. Women’s Open qualifier, so if you get a spot, you know you will be able to contend. I just want to keep it together on the weekend to give myself a chance.”
Pace got a little hot under the collar when her group was put on the clock on the back nine.
“I played well, especially on the back nine. I was really getting into the zone and hitting good shots on difficult holes. It played really long and I was hitting a lot of 5-irons, 6-irons and 7-irons into the greens,” said the 40-year-old.
“Then we got put on the clock for no apparent reason. Obviously if you are slow, they have to warn us but no-one was waiting behind us. I got annoyed and lost a shot on the par-5 (16th), but I made two really good pars to finish.”
The nine-time Ladies European Tour champion, holing a huge putt on 17 to save par and keeping her bid for a record fourth title alive with another great par save on the closing hole.
“The putt on 17 was from the fringe and my caddie actually gave me the line, because I was still seeing red. And I made a really good up-and-down for par on the last. So still in it with two days to go.”
Sixty-six players will contest the final two rounds after the cut fell at 12-over, including Jabra Ladies Classic winner and South Africa’s leading amateur Caitlyn Macnab and recent Nomads SA Girl’s Rose Bowl champion Isabella van Rooyen.
Macnab is eight over after rounds of 77 and 75, and Van Rooyen is a further two shots adrift, having signed for rounds of 76 and 78.
SOCIAL MEDIA THIS WEEK
#InvestecSAWomensOpen
#sunshineladiestour
#levelup (Sunshine Ladies Tour)
#RaiseOurGame (Ladies European Tour)
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the Sunshine Ladies Tour.
5th April 2021 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
SA’s top pros primed to throw down the gauntlet in Cape Town
CAPE TOWN, 5 April 2021 – South African leading lights Nicole Garcia, Monique Smit and Lejan Lewthwaite aim to make statement of intent when the 2021 Sunshine Ladies Tour launches in Cape Town this week.
The eighth season gets underway with the Cape Town Ladies Open at Royal Cape Golf Club from 7-9 April, where the field will vie for the lion’s share of the R200 000 prize fund and an early move on the season-long Investec Order of Merit race.
“Six weeks, six events, more than R6-million in prize money and a load of amazing incentives; you bet we are champing at the bit to get going,” said Garcia.
A three-time winner on Africa’s premier women’s professional golf circuit, Garcia missed a full season in 2019 due to hip surgery. She had high hopes of making a comeback last year, but the global Covid-19 pandemic put paid to her plans.
“The last 12 months has been frustrating, especially for the Ladies European Tour (LET) campaigners,” she said. “South Africa went into the Level 5 lockdown shortly after the Investec South African Women’s Open and the LET also pressed pause on their 2020 schedule until August.
“With the long breaks between events and trying to work around all the travel restrictions, the season was really a write-off for most of us. That’s why we all are so eager to push the reset button.
“We are incredibly blessed that the Sunshine Ladies Tour sponsors and partners are backing us in these trying times. The Sunshine Ladies Tour tagline this season is “level up” and it is certainly the right time for all of us to embrace that and take things to the next level.”
Smit echoed Garcia’s thoughts.
“It was definitely a season of highs and lows,” said the George golfer, who won the 2020 Investec Order of Merit, courtesy of victory in the Joburg Ladies Open and a runner-up finish in the Investec South African Women’s Open.
“It was ironic that I hit the best form of my career in the worst year ever. I had such a fantastic season at home, and qualified for my first AIG Women’s Open. The rest of the season is hardly worth mentioning, but I did qualify as a barista during the lockdown, so there is that silver lining.
“I am really excited to kick off this season with a bang. Besides the prize money, we have so many incentives to shoot for this year. There are chances to secure starts in the Jabra Ladies Open, which is the qualifying event for The Amundi Evian Championship, and the Big Green Egg Dutch Ladies Open in the Netherlands, not to mention all the opportunities this year’s Investec South African Women’s Open offers the South Africans.
“Besides earning tour winner’s status for the LET, it’s the qualifying tournament for the U.S. Women’s Open. Imagine having the chance to qualify for the biggest major right here on home soil.
“Plus, if the winner is a South African, she’ll win the Investec Homegrown Award, which is worth another R100 000. For a seasoned pro or an up-and-coming rookie that’s a huge bonus to use towards travel costs. And, of course, R100 000 for winning the Investec Order of Merit. It’s all to play for this year.”
Lewthwaite, who won the Dimension Data Ladies Challenge and the SuperSport Ladies Challenge, hosted by Sun International last year, finished third on the Investec Order of Merit and was primed to play her first full season on the LET.
“I definitely had high hopes after a successful season at home, but at least I did get to play a few LET events and gain some invaluable experience. So I am ready to pick up where I left off and I think this season is going to be incredible.
“We see more international players come out to South Africa year-on-year because the Sunshine Ladies Tour is so perfectly positioned to build competitive form before the European season starts.
“And this year we should see even more top professionals on the tour with the Investec South African Women’s Open being a qualifier for the U.S. Women’s Open. That’s great news for the seasoned pros and the rookies and the amateurs, too. I cut my teeth on the Sunshine Ladies Tour when I came back from college in the USA and it is such a great circuit to build experience.”
The Sunshine Ladies Tour’s most prolific winner Lee-Anne Pace will headline the field in the season-opener in the Mother City. The LPGA champion will be chasing an unprecedented fourth Cape Town Ladies Open title, having won the event in 2016, 2018 and 2020.
Other players on the watch list include LET campaigners Stacy Bregman, Casandra Hall and eSwatini standout Nobuhle Dlamini, Sunshine Ladies Tour winners Jane Turner from Scotland and France’s Anne-Lise Caudal and rising stars Ivanna Samu, Zethu Myeki, Cara Gorlei, Michaela Fletcher and Tara Griebenow.
SUNSHINE LADIES TOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
Hashtags: #LevelUp #SunshineLadiesTour
Facebook – @sunshineladiestour
Twitter – @SLadiesTour
Instagram – @sunshineladiestour
YouTube – Sunshine Ladies Tour
25th February 2020 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Soweto Country Club in top condition for Joburg Ladies Open
25 February 2020 – The Sunshine Ladies Tour campaigners were full of praise for the Soweto Country Club green-keeping staff ahead of Wednesday’s first round of the R500 000 Joburg Ladies Open.
Seeing the course for the first time, three-time champion Nicole Garcia was positively gushing about the greens.
“I didn’t play last year because I was still on the bench after my hip surgery. The girls told me that the greens were incredibly firm, and the fairways were still patchy but I saw none of that today,” said the Ebotse golfer – the most recent trophy recipient after a double victory in the Canon Serengeti Par-3 Challenge on Sunday.
“I was so pleasantly surprised. The course is a great test like every other Gary Player design and the greens are beautiful. The green-staff must have worked incredibly hard in the last 12 months. You can go for a lot of the pins this year, and we will see a lot more birdies. Everyone that played last year can’t stop gushing. The staff can be so proud of what they have achieved in just a short year.”
Three-time winner Monique Smit echoed Garcia’s sentiments.
“It was amazing to see the difference,” exclaimed the Oubaai golfer. “I told my caddie – the same one I had this year – walking to the first tee that we will have to plan for the firm greens, but they have settled so incredibly well. The greens are receptive and the fairways have grown in nicely. It was super-fun playing the pro-am, and watching our seeing our partners making birdies.
“This is probably one of the tightest courses we play all season, and you are going to have to keep it in play and stay out of the trees if you want to go low. Keep finding the greens. Keep it simple.”
Former South African Open champion Tandi McCallum and rookie Casandra Hall chased champion Nobuhle Dlamini all the way to the finish line last year and both players will be gunning for success.
McCallum, second last year, already wore the bridesmaid tag twice this season.
The Parkview golfer lost the SuperSport Ladies Challenge to Lejan Lewthwaite in a play-off and, this time partnering Lethwaite, they were beaten by Garcia and Scottish golfer Gabrielle Macdonald in a four-hole play-off in the Canon Serengeti Par-3 Challenge Pro-Am.
Although she was peppering the flags in the final round at Serengeti, McCallum’s putter wouldn’t cooperate. “I had two chances in the play-off to win it with birdies, and the putts died on me. I spent some quality time with the flat-stick on Monday and I’m ready to fire. I’m driving the ball really well, so I’m confident that I can keep it play. And the girls are raving about how the greens have matured, so hopefully it’s third time lucky for me.”
Hall returned from Spain in January with a brand-new Ladies European Tour card in her pocket.
She is still chasing a maiden Sunshine Ladies Tour title and this week and the R600 000 Jabra Ladies Classic next week at her home course, possibly represents her best two chances. Third in last year’s event, the Glendower pro is keen to rekindle her love affair with Soweto Country Club.
“A lot of people didn’t like the course last year, but I loved it from the word go and it’s even better this year. I love the layout; it suits my game. The pressure will probably be a bit more this year with so many international players in the field, but competing on the Vodacom Origins series last year helped me settle into the pro environment. I survived the LET Q-School, so I’m ready to fight.”
If she can channel some positive energy, hit it straight and roll in some putts, Hall could very well be crowned the sixth Joburg Ladies Open champions on Friday.
SOCIAL MEDIA – TOURNAMENT
Hashtag – #joburgladiesopen
TWITTER – @CityofJoburgZA
FACEBOOK – @CityofJoburg
INSTAGRAM – @cityofjoburg
SOCIAL MEDIA – SUNSHINE LADIES TOUR
Hashtags – #sunshineladiestour #InvestecGolf #itstartshere
TWITTER – @SLadiesTour
FACEBOOK – @sunshineladiestour
INSTAGRAM – @sunshineladiestour
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the Sunshine Ladies Tour and WPGA.
23rd February 2020 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Double Canon Crown for Garcia at Serengeti
23 February 2020 – Nicole Garcia celebrated a much-anticipated return to the winner’s circle with not one, but two dramatic victories at Serengeti Estates on Sunday.
The Ebotse golfer won the Canon Serengeti Par-3 Challenge and led team Shooters to victory in the Canon Serengeti Par-3 Pro-Am title in a thrilling four-hole play-off at the Whistling Thorn Course.
Garcia opened her campaign on the 2,618-metre par three championship layout with a level-par 54 and began the final round one stroke clear of Brittney-Fay Berger. In-form Lejan Lewthwaite – already a two-time winner this season – was two shots back in joint third with five-time Sunshine Ladies Tour winner Stacy Bregman.
Garcia gave the chasing pack a glimmer of hope when she paid for an errant tee shot on the third hole with a double bogey, but she bounced back in style out aced the 165-metre sixth hole with a 7-iron.
She widened the gap on the chasing pack with further gains on 12 and 16 and sealed victory on one-under-par 107 and, despite giving a shot back to the field on the 17th hole, finished five shots clear of Berger.
It took a few more hours though, before Garcia and her team-mates Gabrielle Macdonald and amateur team-mates Abri Kriegler and Daren Hanekom could properly celebrate her third career victory.
Garcia’s birdie on 16 and a Macdonald birdie on 17 boosted the team aggregate to 17-under-par 199, matching the clubhouse target set earlier by Lewthwaite, fellow pro Tandi McCallum and their amateur partners Mike Honiball and Frank Neto.
“That meant a play-off on the 18th hole and The Shooters were excited, because we’d done well on 18 in both rounds; little did we know it would become a proper shoot-out Sunday,” Garcia said.
Both teams had chances to close out the win, including Kriegler who pushed a birdie putt past the hole on the first extra hole. “We tied the 18th hole three times, so they took us to the first, and that’s where we got the job done,” said Garcia, who holed a long-range putt for birdie and was backed up by Kriegler, who got his birdie effort in the hole at last.
1. Nicole Garcia claimed her third Sunshine Ladies Tour title with a five-stroke victory in the Canon Serengeti Par-3 Challenge on the Whistle Thorn Championship Course at Serengeti.
“Gabrielle and I had such an amazing time out there with Abri and Daren. Our amateurs could really play. Abri’s handicap index is 13, so he made a big contribution with his nett birdies. Gabrielle didn’t fire in the first round, but she made five birdies for us in the final round. Daren is a member of the South African Disabled Golf Association and one of South Africa’s top ranked deaf golfer. He drives the ball beautifully and we were thrilled when he won the closest to the hole prize in the final round.
“What I will remember most about this tournament is the high fives, the first pumps and all the laughs. We had a genuinely great time out there and we were absolutely thrilled to be the first winners of the Canon Serengeti Par-3 Challenge.”
In addition to the first place prize money Garcia bagged, the Benoni golfer also shared a R100 000 bonus with her partner Macdonald that Serengeti Estates owner David Nagel kicked in.
Garcia spent the full 2019 season on the bench following hip surgery to re-attach the labrum and to reshape the femur bone to fit into the hip socket properly. She landed her third Sunshine Ladies Tour title in her fifth start this season, which bodes well for the “big three” starting next week in the Joburg Ladies Open. “This tournament was perfectly timed in the middle of the season and it has been brilliant in terms of fine-tuning our games for the Joburg Ladies Open, the Jabra Ladies Classic and the Investec South African Women’s Open,” Garcia said.
“All three events are big-money tournaments and the last two come with some serious incentives. The winner of the Jabra Ladies Classic gets a start in the Jabra Ladies Open, which is the Ladies European Tour qualifier for the Evian Championship. And the winner at Westlake gets exemption on the Ladies European Tour until the end of 2021, and spots into the AEG British Women’s Open and the Evian Championship.
“The stakes are loaded. We all honed our short-games this week, and this golf course put up a huge challenge. It was very tough out there, and I think everyone who played this week, will agree with me that we are so much sharper thanks to this experience.”
Monique Smit and Kim Williams – partnering amateurs Dana Eitzen from Canon South Africa and SAGDB member Curtley Roberts – finished third on 205.
SOCIAL MEDIA
TOURNAMENT HASHTAG – #Par3Challenge /
TWITTER – @SLadiesTour
FACEBOOK – @sunshineladiestour
INSTAGRAM – @sunshineladiestour
OTHER – #itstartshere #InvestecGolf #sunshineladiestour #CanonRSA #WhistlingThorn
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the Sunshine Ladies Tour and WPGA.