4th December 2023 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Sunshine Ladies Tour unveils a season of opportunity
South African golf will have one of its most inclusive seasons in history with the 2024 Sunshine Ladies Tour set to feature a strong schedule of its own as well as representation on the men’s Sunshine Tour.
The upcoming Sunshine Ladies Tour season will consist of nine tournaments running from February to April 2024, two of which will be co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour and with live coverage on SuperSport.
Added to this, the winners of each of these events as well as the overall Order of Merit champion will earn a place with the men in the Sunshine Tour’s new Waterfall City Tournament of Champions powered by Attacq where they will compete for a first prize of R1 million at Royal Johannesburg Golf Club’s East Championship Course from 2-5 May 2024.
It’s another significant step in the ongoing drive towards equal opportunity within South African professional golf and builds on the 2023 Vodacom Origins of Golf Series on the Sunshine Tour where the leading Sunshine Ladies Tour professionals competed in the same tournament as the Sunshine Tour professionals for the same prize money.
“The strength of South African professional golf lies in our collective strength to create a product that showcases our diversity as a country capable of producing champions in the men’s and women’s game,” said Thomas Abt, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour and speaking on behalf of the Sunshine Ladies Tour.
“We are privileged to have sponsors and partners who share this vision with us and which allows us to not only put together a strong independent Sunshine Ladies Tour schedule, but also to incorporate the strength of both our tours into a unified product that offers greater value to the professionals, the fans and to our sponsors.”
The 2024 Sunshine Ladies Tour will be anchored by two co-sanctioned tournaments with the Ladies European Tour – the Joburg Ladies Open at Modderfontein Golf Club from 18-21 April and the season-ending Investec South African Women’s Open at Erinvale Golf Estate from 25-28 April.
The schedule will tee off with the Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am at Fancourt from 16-18 February and will also include the SuperSport Ladies Challenge presented by Sun International at the Lost City Golf Course from 21-23 February, the Sunshine Ladies Tour Invitational from 6-8 March at a venue still to be confirmed, the Cape Town Ladies Open at Royal Cape Golf Club from 13-15 March, and the Jabra Ladies Classic at Glendower Golf Club from 10-12 April.
There are also two new events on the schedule in March and April which will be announced at a later date.
2024 SUNSHINE LADIES TOUR SCHEDULE
16-18 February: Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am – Fancourt
21-23 February: SuperSport Ladies Challenge presented by Sun International – Lost City Golf Course
6-8 March: Sunshine Ladies Tour Invitational – Venue TBC
13-15 March: Cape Town Ladies Open – Royal Cape Golf Club
23 March: New Tournament TBA – Venue TBC
4-6 April: New Tournament TBA – Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate
10-12 April: Jabra Ladies Classic – Glendower Golf Club
18-21 April: Joburg Ladies Open – Modderfontein Golf Club (co-sanctioned with LET)
25-28 April: Investec South African Women’s Open – Erinvale Golf Estate (co-sanctioned with LET)
8th March 2023 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
German precision nets Noja course-record at Investec SA Women’s Open
It was a display of precision golf from Germany’s Chiara Noja on Wednesday as she soared to a course-record 10-under-par 62 to take a two-stroke lead in the first round of the Investec South African Women’s Open Championship at Steenberg Golf Club.
The lanky 16-year-old Noja, who finished 12th in a stellar field in the LPGA’s Aramco Saudi Ladies International just a few weeks back, hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation as she made an eagle, nine birdies and a bogey to relegate Ashleigh Buhai’s opening eight-under-par 68 to second place.
“It was just very consistent golf in general,” said Noja. “I didn’t feel like I was swinging it incredibly well, so I was just trying to put myself in good positions for birdies. My putting’s good, definitely. To hole some of those putts was really good. My wedges were on point, and that’s what I’ll be trying to do going into the next few days. Depending on the wind, we’re going to see exactly how much I need to go under.”
While her wedge play was outstanding, there was plenty more to catch the eye about her game.
Any good score depends on making putts, and she had 27 putts in her 18 holes, including just 12 on the front nine. But her driving also caught the eye, and on the par-five fifth, she boomed it out there to 292 yards.
It was those shots into the greens that were attention-grabbing, and that was no fluke.
“Over the last two years, I’ve spent a lot of time working on my wedges,” she said. “I used to really struggle with that. I didn’t really get to practice it much. Over the winter, I’ve done a lot of wedge work and a lot of the shots I have learnt to hit, I didn’t have in the bag at the start of the season. There’s been growth in that sense, and also trusting myself a little better. I’m just trying to commit to everything.”
After Buhai’s morning heroics, Noja’s score was the only significant shake-up on the leaderboard from the afternoon field in the tournament co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Lades Tour and the Ladies European Tour.
On six-under, and in a share of third, were Johanna Gustavsson of Sweden, France’s Nastasia Nadaud and Romy Meekers of the Netherlands.
Joburg Ladies Open winner and reigning Investec Order of Merit leader Lily May Humphreys from England was back in the mix with a flawless five-under-par 67 to sit in sixth, and six players were in a share of seventh on four-under, including the next-best South African after Buhai, Nadia van der Westhuizen.
Defending champion Lee-Anne Pace opened with a two-under-par 70.
The story of the day, however, was Noja’s. “Obviously, I’ve had school, so I’ve not been running around crazy, but the work I have done in between lots of studying has mainly about trying to be healthy and try to make things repeatable,” she said. “I’ve also been working on getting shots into my bag for those in between distances that I didn’t have last year, and that’s really helped me for the last three months.” With uncertainty in the air about the weather over the next few days, Noja was reluctant to say how she might approach the rest of the tournament. “I’m going to show up, make the best of everything, of every shot, and whatever comes out comes out,” she said.
4th March 2023 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Heroic Humphreys clinches Joburg Ladies Open
Lily May Humphreys from England sealed an emotional maiden Sunshine Ladies and Ladies European Tour victory with a masterful two-shot triumph in the €300 000 Joburg Ladies Open on Saturday.
The Englishwoman started the day six shots behind overnight leader Moa Folke, who overhauled her in the final round of the Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am to win at Fancourt three weeks ago.
Turning the tables on the Swede, Humphreys looked in control from the moment she made the first two of her seven birdies on the two opening holes and, when Folke’s campaign hit the skids on the back nine, she closed with a composed six-under-par 67 to lift the title.
“I’m at a loss for words, really,” said the champion. “Starting six back, I never expected to finish in the winner’s circle. I’m pretty speechless. I was so nervous playing 18. I just can’t believe I’ve done it. I’m really overwhelmed right now.”
Humphreys believes a well-executed game plan produced the winning result.
“I wasn’t as aggressive on certain holes as other players were,” she said. “All week I just stuck to what I felt comfortable with, and what was best for me and that obviously paid off.”
After the fast start, she overturned a bogey on the third with a birdie on the par-five fifth and notched further birdies on the par-five eighth and the 13th holes before she tied Folke for the lead on 11-under with her sixth gain of the day on the par-three 14th.
“I was pretty good off the tee,” she said. “I don’t think I really missed a fairway, and I didn’t miss too many greens today. I didn’t hole absolutely everything. I started off holing two good putts on one and two and then on 14 and 16, and those luckily got me into the lead. I just tried to keep playing my game, which is fairways and greens and see what happens with the putts.”
Folke, two groups behind Humphreys, dropped on 14 and 15, and when the 2021 LET Access Tour Order of Merit winner birdied the par-three 16th, she had pulled two shots clear.
“I only realised I was tied for the lead on the 15th,” Humphreys said. “I had a five-foot putt for par and luckily, I holed that and followed it up with a birdie on 16. I didn’t know that I had a two-shot lead until I was putting on 18. The nerves properly kicked in then.”
The hardest was waiting for the last two groups to finish.
Folke, who failed to make up a deficit, signed for 74 and had to settle for share of second on 10-under with Spain’s Ana Pelaez, who returned a 69.
Kiera Floyd was the top South African finisher after the 18-year-old rookie closed with a two-under 71 to finish joint fourth with Czech golfer Klara Davidson Spilkova and 36-hole leader Nicole Broch Estrup from Denmark, who posted respective rounds of 73 and 74.
Coming off a stellar amateur career, Humphreys had to delay turning professional for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, 15 month into the pro ranks, she owns a Ladies European Tour winner’s category for the rest of the season, and the 2024 and 2025 seasons. More importantly, she has gained the confidence that she can compete – and beat – the best.
“I came out to play on the Sunshine Ladies Tour to warm up, and to see where my game was at and to build some confidence. It’s worked so far,” the 20-year-old Chelmsford golfer said.
“I love it here; I have been enjoying it and I have loved playing the Sunshine Ladies Tour. I’m in better form now and feel confident and I was happy that I was in the final few groups, and I started off nicely, I just wanted to be near contention at the start of the day. To be where I am now is incredible.”
The victory bumped Humphreys to the top of the 2023 Investec Order of Merit, with Folke in second and Jabra Ladies Classic winner Casandra Alexander in third.
The trio will duel out the money list race when the Sunshine Ladies Tour’s 10th season wraps up next week with the 30th Investec South African Women’s Open, also co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour. South Africa’s flagship event boasts an increased purse of €320 000 and will be hosted by the City of Cape Town at Steenberg Golf Club for a second consecutive year from 8-11 March.
3rd March 2023 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Folke soars on eagle wings to Joburg Ladies Open lead
3 March 2023 – Moa Folke from Sweden holed out for an eagle on Friday on the par-four 18th at Modderfontein Golf Club to grab a two-shot lead on moving day in the €300 000 Joburg Ladies Open.
The Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am winner Folke made eight birdies and two bogeys before the eagle to post an eight-under-par 65.
Halfway leader Nicole Broch Estrup of Denmark, who had a two-under-par 71, slipped second on 10-under ahead of the final round of the tournament co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Ladies Tour and the Ladies European Tour.
“I played really well today, I’m very happy,” said Folke. “The wind is a little bit different today, so I was quite nervous on the tee shot on 18, not knowing the wind, and then I got in the rough.
“I got a really good lie, though. I was in between clubs but then I just picked one and hit it and it looked really good and to see it go in is such a fun feeling. My putter definitely helped, I putted really well but I’ve also given myself a lot of chances today, so overall it was great.”
It was a quiet start for Folke as she opened moving day with a birdie on the first, followed by two pars and then her first bogey on the fourth. She redeemed that dropped shot immediately and made three birdies in the next four holes to turn in three-under 34.
She picked up another birdie on the 10th and dropped her second shot on the 12th. Unfazed, she made three more birdies on her way home, and followed those with the wonderful closing shot on 18.
Estrup, who had a superb 66 to take the 36-hole lead, was inevitably a little more subdued in the third round. “I feel like two-under today was pretty good, it could have been a little bit lower if I had putted better,” she said. “I didn’t feel like I putted bad; just more that I didn’t roll anything in. If a few more had dropped it would have been a really good day.
“I would really love to come out on top tomorrow. I feel like I’m ready for it. It will be hard, and it will be tough, but I’m more ready than I have been. I feel like I’ve learned a lot the past couple of weeks and even today about myself and how to handle myself. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, it will be a good challenge.”
One shot behind the second-placed Estrup was Klara Davidson Spilkova of the Czech Republic, who signed for a three-under-par 70 to reach nine-under-par, three off the lead. She said, “I was very solid today and I was just waiting for the putts to go in and fortunately it did on the last hole, but I was just trying to stay patient out there.
“I feel very good about tomorrow, this is what we work for to be in the final groups. I’m excited and maybe a little nervous as always, but that’s good. I’m just going to stay patient, trust myself and trust the process and see what happens.”
The leading South African heading into the closing round was Sunshine Ladies Tour rookie Kiera Floyd, who had a six-under-par 67 with an eagle, seven birdies and three bogeys to move to seven-under and a share of fourth.
The leading amateur in the Investec South African Women’s Open last year, Floyd finished second in the Cape Town Ladies Open in brutal weather at Atlantic Beach Links a fortnight ago, showing she has the mental strength to withstand the pressure of the big stage.
The 18-year-old has played regularly at Modderfontein for most of her golfing life, and she used that to her advantage. “I have played this course since I was about seven years old,” she said. “I know this course like the back of my hand.
“The eagle on 13 was a pretty good eagle, I must say. I hit a good drive down the middle and I had about 115 and I hit it to about 20-foot and I just made the putt. I felt good over it. I left a few birdie putts out there, but I’m happy with the progress I made today. I’m just going to go out there and experience everything tomorrow. It’s all new to me and there are really no expectations towards anything. If I just stick to the game plan that I did today, I think I will do well.”
For Folke, the win in the Dimension Data Pro-Am has freed her up. “I have gained so much confidence,” she said of her victory at Fancourt last month. “Getting to win a few weeks ago on the Sunshine Ladies Tour gave me so much confidence knowing I can play well and to prove that I can play well today was extra special.
“I think I’m going to be nervous tomorrow, but it is so much fun to be in this position. I have been in this position once before and it didn’t go so well. I feel like I’m a better player now so I’m looking forward to tomorrow. After I was in this position last time, I worked really hard on my short game and my long game has gotten better so I feel I’m better prepared this time.”
2nd March 2023 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Dane Estrup takes Joburg Ladies Open lead
, 2 March 2023 – Nicole Broch Estrup from Denmark improved by six strokes in Thursday’s second round of the Joburg Ladies Open at Modderfontein Golf Club as she fired a flawless seven-under-par 66 to take a two-stroke lead in the tournament co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Ladies Tour and the Ladies European Tour.
Estrup reached the halfway mark at eight-under, and sits two shots clear of Sweden’s Linnea Johansson, Klara Davidson Spilkova from the Czech Republic and England’s Lily May Humpreys. Finland’s Ursula Wikstrom was in fifth, while the leading South African, Nicole Garcia, shared sixth on four-under with Felicity Johnson from England, Swede Moa Folke, Kirsten Rudgeley from Australia and Italy’s Alessandra Fanali.
The 36-hole cut to 60 and ties fell at two-over, leaving 64 to contest for a share of the €300 000 purse over the next two rounds.
Estrup said the difference between day one and two was the par-fives, and a hot putter.
“In the first round, I was three-over on the par-fives,” she said. “I am always kind of focusing on the par-fives, but today I really wanted to take advantage of them. The first hole being a par-five, I started with a nice birdie so that kicked it off. The big difference from yesterday to today is the par-fives, I think I’m four-under on them and yesterday I was three-over.”
In addition to doing better on the longer holes, where she felt she was able to get away with a couple of bad drives here and there, her putting had taken her into the lead. “The strongest part of my game was probably my putting,” she said. “Knock on wood, I haven’t three-putted yet in these two rounds and I made some clutch five- to seven-footers when I needed for pars and even for birdies on the par-fives when I two-putted.”
Estrup is also working on embracing the challenges golf throws at her, rather than avoiding the inevitability of them and her husband Casper on the bag proved a valuable asset.
“My caddie was good at reminding me that my big goal is that I want to achieve and not avoid,” she said. “So, not being afraid of hitting a bad shot but trying to achieve to hit good shots and I did good today on that part.
“I’m feeling really comfortable, but the last year-and-a-half, the mental game has been my biggest struggle. If I can keep improving slowly on that part, then hopefully I’m going to keep finding myself in this position. I’m feeling good about my game, but when I get scared on the course, that’s when I hit the bad shots.”
Johansson and Spilkova each carded four-under-par 60. Johansson’s total had a double-bogey on it, and Spilkova had two bogeys. Humphreys had a rollercoaster three-under 70 that featured two double-bogeys, an eagle and five birdies.
Garcia reeled in five birdies for her second successive two-under 71, and, at four-under at the 36-hole mark, is nicely placed ahead of the weekend.
So too is five-time Investec South African Women’s Open champion Lee-Anne Pace. She had a four-under 69 to move into 11th at three-under, just five strokes back, and she can strike from there.
But, for Estrup, it’s about wanting to hit good shots without being afraid of hitting bad ones. “I’m probably going to be nervous over the weekend, but I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “The opening tournament in Morocco was an eye-opener where I was back to reality with a good first round and then a bad second round. It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m looking forward to being in the mix.”
1st March 2023 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Rookie Holmey goes on birdie spree to lead Joburg Ladies Open
1 March 2023 – Ladies European Tour rookie Lauren Holmey from the Netherlands birdied her last hole on Wednesday to move to six-under-par 67 and a one-stroke lead in the first round of the €300 000 Joburg Ladies Open at Modderfontein Golf Club.
Playing in just her second tournament on the Ladies European Tour – this one co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Ladies Tour – the 20-year-old overcame three bogeys with a flurry of nine birdies to edge one clear of Alice Hewson of England and Denmark’s Smilla Tarning Soenderby, who were on five-under in a share of second.
That flurry of birdies came after she started her round on the 10th with a bogey.
She regained that stroke with a birdie on 12, but then she made five birdies in a row from the 15th. “I think I have to thank my father, who was on the bag, for that,” said Holmey. “It was a really good day on the greens.
“The putts were all pretty much within 20 feet, as a result of good second shots to the green. I picked my spots on the greens quite well too, so I had easy uphill putts with not too much break. It was the first time I got so many birdies in a row.”
She is relishing the adventure of starting her rookie season in Africa: “I’m loving every moment,” she said. “I played in Morocco before this, so this is my second tournament and I’m just enjoying every moment. It’s just a lot of fun being a rookie on the LET.
“Tomorrow, I just have to keep playing like I did today. I have my dad and my mom with me, so I have my own little team. It’s someone who is always there for me. He’s been a great support to me, and we’ve been a great team for the past year now,” she added.
Hewson, the winner of the Investec South African Women’s Open in 2020 in her rookie season on the Ladies European Tour, finished last year’s Joburg Ladies Open in a share of third, and she went bogey-free around Modderfontein as she converted a hot start to a five-under-par 68.
“I birdied four of my first five holes,” said Hewson. “Hit the first in two which is always nice, and I had a nice easy two-putt. I hit it nice and tight into two and three. I just missed on four, unfortunately, but again, hit five in two for a two-putt birdie. And then the putter cooled down a bit for the rest of the round, but that’s okay.
“Had to stay patient on the back nine which is a bit trickier than the front nine. No bogeys on the card. I didn’t hit every shot perfectly today, did not hit everything as planned. I had a little luck and didn’t end up behind any trees or anything like that, which is always good. Plotted my way around the course really nicely.”
Her round is a continuation of what has been a solid start on the 2023 Ladies European Tour season, in which she is currently lying fourth on the Race to Costa del Sol. She finished in a share of fourth in the Magical Kenya Ladies Open and had top-20 finishes in the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco and the Saudi Ladies International.
She didn’t play South Africa in 2021, but she added a share of 11th in the Investec South African Women’s Open to her third at Modderfontein last year in the Joburg Ladies Open.
The leading South African after the first round was the evergreen Tandi McCallum, in a share of fourth after her opening four-under-par 69 which she made despite a double-bogey and two bogeys. Next best were Nicole Garcia, the impressive young rookie Kaleigh Telfer and Lora Assad, all on two-under-par.
28th February 2023 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
No expectations for Alexander in Joburg Ladies Open
28 February 2023 – Although she has won twice on the Sunshine Ladies Tour this season, Casandra Alexander says she is not going into the €300 000 Joburg Ladies Open which gets underway at Modderfontein Golf Club on Wednesday with any expectations.
Alexander, who added last week’s Jabra Ladies Classic to her SuperSport Ladies Challenge title from the beginning of February, leads the Investec Order of Merit on the local tour, and is clearly on a roll ahead of the final two events of the season which are co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Ladies Tour and the Ladies European Tour.
“I’m gearing up for the two big ones, but I have no expectations; I’m just excited for the week ahead,” the 2021 Joburg Ladies Open champion said.
She won her title at Soweto Country Club by one stroke from South Africa’s leading player at the time, Lee-Anne Pace, but she missed the cut at Modderfontein last year when Sweden’s Linn Grant won her third title in South Africa before going on to nearly conquer the world.
“I struggled out there last year,” said Alexander, “but the confidence I have from winning my two tournaments on the Sunshine Ladies Tour this year really helps me. I have fond memories of the Joburg Open having won it before. Yes, it’s a different golf course, and it wasn’t co-sanctioned then, but it has always been a special week.”
And it is special again this week, with no less than five Investec South African Women’s Open champions in the field, including Pace, who has won the last two national titles, 2020 winner Alice Hewson from England, Diksha Dagar from India, who won in 2019, Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord, the winner in 2013 and Tandi McCallum, who won in 2009.
There is also last year’s runner-up, Kim Metraux of Switzerland, as well as players from 28 countries other than South Africa.
And, of course, there are the South African players looking to make their mark on the Ladies European Tour, as well as their own home circuit – the rookies like Kiera Floyd and Gabi Venter, as well as the experienced players who are settling in to their work at local and international level, like Nicole Garcia and Stacy Bregman.
With six players inside the world’s top 200 according to the Rolex Women’s World Rankings – including Pace and Hewson, Ana Pelaez Trivino of Spain, the Czech Republic’s Klara Davidson Spilkova, Leonie Harm of Germany and Swede Johanna Gustavsson – it’s a field for locals to test themselves against as they look to further their careers.
Alexander is heading down that road having played a season on the Ladies European Tour already, and the Joburg Ladies Open can give her a little help on that path. “It’s an advantage to be staying at home, sleeping in my own bed,” she said. “You don’t get a stiff body that way. Being surrounded by my team is a big bonus.
“I can take each day as just another round of golf, even though they are bigger events and more players are coming out for them,” she added.
Two wins in a season is also a bit of a boost, and it won’t be too much of a surprise to see her in the mix over the weekend. Or to see her win.
| Sunshine Ladies Tour
Joburg Ladies Open makes a difference
28 February 2023 – When The City of Johannesburg Executive Mayor, Cllr Thapelo Amad Linn, hits the first tee shot on Wednesday morning to launch the 2023 Joburg Ladies Open, 132 golfers will be hoping to emulate the celebrated winner from last year, Linn Grant.
Grant won the first of four Ladies European Tour titles last season when she took the eighth Joburg Ladies Open at Modderfontein Golf Club on her way to a dominant showing in the Race to Costa del Sol.
The eighth edition of the Sunshine Ladies Tour and Ladies European Tour (LET) co-sanctioned event at Modderfontein Golf Club from 1-4 March is one of the early events on the 2023 LET season, boasting 30 tournaments and spanning 21 countries in a record-breaking schedule. The winner on Saturday will not only bank the lion share of the prize money, worth approximately R880 000, but will be exempt into most of the LET events of the season.
The first LET stop in South Africa this year boasts a significant bump in prize money – from €250,000 to €300,000 – making this event a hugely attractive drawcard for local golfers with aspirations to play in the Europe and the international contenders targeting an early advantage on the season-long Race to Costa del Sol.
Grant was crowned winner of the third edition of the Race to Costa del Sol following in the footsteps of Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul and Denmark’s Emily Kristine Pedersen.
In her rookie season on tour, the 23-year-old won four times and only finished outside the top 10 in individual events on four occasions. The Swede became the fifth player to win both the Race to Costa del Sol and Rookie of the Year titles in the same season, while she also voted Players’ Player of the Year and climbed to a career-high of 24 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
With major champion and winner of the 2022 AIG Women’s Open Championship Ashleigh Buhai and six-time Investec South African Women’s Open champion Lee-Anne Pace on the previous winners’ roster of the Joburg Ladies Open, South African women have local players to emulate too.
Last year, Nicole Garcia was the highest-placed South African at Modderfontein, finishing in a share of third. “The Joburg Ladies Open has always been really popular,” she said after her win, “and we local golfers are so incredibly grateful to Bongi Mokaba and The City of Johannesburg for getting LET status for the tournament.
“To have two chances to gain winner’s status on the LET is a huge incentive for us. But you know, even if you don’t win, just to have the international competition on our shores for two weeks is massive, especially for the young pros who can’t afford to compete abroad,” she added.
Mokaba, The City of Johannesburg Director: Event Management, has been the driving force behind this tournament for the last years, and was hugely instrumental to have the Joburg Ladies Open elevated to co-sanctioned status. “The Joburg Ladies Open has been hugely successful since its introduction on the Sunshine Ladies Tour in 2016 and we are confident that the event will continue to enjoy the success it achieved as a co-sanctioned event in 2022,” she said.
The Joburg Ladies Open is also unique in that it truly aims at growing the game and drawing women into the sport.
“We are the only tournament during which only women play in our pro-am preceding the event,” Mokaba said. “We also use only women as volunteers and you will not only see Modderfontein ladies members on the course doing scoring and other volunteer work, but we draw women from many golf clubs who love to be part of the event.
“The Joburg Ladies Open has always been a tournament with purpose, and the theme this year is ‘Dignity for a Female Child’. We have teamed up with SPAR on our ‘Birdies for Dignity’ campaign, and SPAR will donate a dignity pack for every birdie or better hit during the duration of the tournament. “We are also running a ‘Splash for Dignity’ initiative during the pro-am and for every shot that goes in the water, the golfer will donate R50, which will be used to buy additional sanitary packs. All the packs will be donated to the headmistress of the Zeneleni Primary School in Alexandra when the tournament wraps up on Saturday.
“This is an initiative that is as close to my heart as the tournament is, and it’s fantastic to see how all our pro-am guests, our players, SPAR and SuperSport have embraced this. We also invite all our spectators to bring sanitary packs to donate, or to make a donation at the event.”
16th February 2023 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Experience sees Floyd join leaders at Cape Town Ladies Open
16 February 2023 – Four years competing in Sunshine Ladies Tour events as an amateur stood Kiera Floyd in good stead on Thursday as she survived another battering by the wind to take a share of the second-round lead of the Cape Town Ladies Open at Atlantic Beach.
Floyd has only just set out on her professional journey, but she drew on the memory of lessons learned as an amateur in the face of high winds which pushed scores to levels bordering on the ridiculous.
Her five-over-par 77 was the third-best of the day and put her at 11-over for the tournament in a three-way share for the lead with Spain’s Mireia Prat and Hayley Davis of England.
“I learned a lot from playing those professional tournaments as an amateur,” said Floyd, who finished third as a 14-year-old in the Jabra Ladies Classic. And last year, in equally windy conditions at Steenberg Golf Club, Floyd lifted the Jackie Mercer Trophy as the leading amateur in the Investec South African Women’s Open.
“I think what I learned about course management was very helpful, and, as a result, I’m not feeling overwhelmed in just my second event as a pro, even though I’m at the top of the leaderboard.
“I managed to take what I got from yesterday’s round into today, and I just went at it one hole at a time. And then, making a birdie on the fifth in the middle of all those shots being dropped was great. I hit it just off the green at the back. It was about a 30-footer downhill and downwind and I felt good over it. It gave me a good confidence-boost.”
It was one of only a couple of dozen birdies made by the 87 players in the field, and that was because the wind was so challenging. Davis, who loves the layout, said keeping the ball in play was paramount/
“It was tough out there, but at least we knew what to expect after the first round because the wind was pretty similar,” she said. “It was a three- or four-club wind most of the day. A couple of the par-fives that are downwind, you have to take advantage of them. But it’s just trying to keep the ball in play out there, really. Anything can happen!”
Former SA Women’s Stroke Play champion Floyd agreed. “It’s very unusual for me to hit s seven-iron from 100 metres,” she said. “Normally, in Johannesburg, I hit my seven-iron 180. So, it was a four-or five-club wind out there. You have to be careful when you go downwind, as well. You have to club down about two or three clubs.”
Incredibly, the cut fell at 19-over-par as 32 brave souls will venture into the win of the final round.
One shot off the lead is the Sunshine Ladies Tour Order of Merit Leader, Lily May Humphreys of England, who had a four-over-par 76. In fifth on 13-over after the round of the day with a three-over-par 75 was Finland’s Emily Penttila.
It was a brutal day for the African challenge for the title, as only Brittney-Fay Berger, Royal Cape amateur Odette Booysen, local favourite Cara Gorlei and Floyd made the cut, together with Bonita Bredenhann from Namibia.
Floyd’s grit, as well as her embrace of the challenging conditions and her experience under pressure, will make for an interesting final round.
15th February 2023 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Gorlei in touch in brutal south-easter in Cape Town Ladies Open
15 February 2023 – Cara Gorlei sounded almost wounded after carding a five-over-par 77 on Wednesday in the first round of the Sunshine Ladies Tour’s Cape Town Ladies Open in the toughest windy conditions imaginable at Atlantic Beach Golf Links.
With the wind constantly blowing at 40 kilometres per hour, and gusting up to 72 kilometres per hour, there was no place to hide as not a single player was able to go better than three-over for the day. Two did: Mireia Prad of Spain and Norway’s Dorthea Forbrigd led the way with a pair of 76s. Gorlei and four others shared third, two shots off the lead.
“I made a quadruple-bogey on the par-three eighth,” said Gorlei, “so to be only one-over in total for the rest of my round is actually pretty good. In fact, I came home in one-under 35 on the back nine, and I don’t think anyone else managed that, so I’ve got something positive to take with me for the remainder of the tournament.”
With similar wind forecast for the remaining 36 holes, Gorlei is going to need all the positivity she can muster. “I was three-over after three holes this morning, and I said to my caddie, who is a local here, that five-over was going to be a good score,” she said. “He agreed!”
With all Gorlei’s experience at Milnerton Golf Club just up the coast from Atlantic Beach, she said she had never faced such tough conditions. “I reckon it was up to a six-club wind sometimes,” she said. “You could pick a club into the wind, hit it low, and the wind would still take it. You could try and hit down on it, and it would just balloon up and away.”
And while Gorlei was beaten down by the wind, rookie professional Kiera Floyd was much more phlegmatic about things.
She carded a six-over 78 and was in a share of eighth place. “I wasn’t too bothered by the wind, to be honest,” said the 19-year-old former SA Women’s Stroke Play champion. “I made two doubles, and had a couple of three-putts, and I didn’t feel as if the wind forced me into those mistakes.
“The wind is really something I’ve had to deal with a lot in my career so far, and I didn’t let it get to me today. It’s tough, don’t get me wrong, but it’s the same for everyone, and I like to look at it as a challenge, rather than as a threat.”
Gorlei finished alongside Gabrielle Macdonald from Scotland, Germany’s Sarina Smidt, Hayley Davis from England and Pasqualle Coffa from the Netherlands. Floyd shared eighth with four other players, and, together with Gorlei and Lindi Coetzee, was one of only three South Africans in the top-10.
The Sunshine Ladies Tour Order of Merit leader after the first two events, Lily May Humphreys from England, also had a battle on her hands, although her eight-over-par 80 put her in a share of 18th. And an experienced player like Tandi McCallum slumped to a 17-over-par 89 amongst the carnage wrought by the south-easter.
For Gorlei, however, it has to be get-up and go again for the remaining two rounds. “I’m not saying I like it,” she said, “but I know what I’ll be going out in, and I know that I have tools to deal with it, based on my closing nine.”