Strength of SA women’s golf being showcased
by Michael Vlismas 05 July 2012, 13:41
The strength of South African women’s golf will be on display next week when the country’s leading amateurs tee it up in the Sanlam South African Women’s Amateur Match Play Championship and the South African Women’s Open.
The Sanlam SA Women’s Amateur Match Play Championship will be played at Benoni Country Club from Sunday 8 July to Wednesday 11 July, followed by the SA Women’s Open at Selborne Park Golf Club from Friday 13 July to Sunday 15 July.
South Africa’s top women amateur golfers should make for one of the most keenly anticipated championships in history.
South African No 1 Kim Williams is in the field as the winner of the double (SA Amateur Stroke Play and Match Play titles in 2011) and the winner of the individual title in the All Africa Challenge Trophy in Botswana in June.
She will be joined by Nobuhle Dlamini, the reigning SA Amateur Stroke Play champion and No 2 in the country, and who has won a string of amateur titles this year.
Joining them is a whole host of the country’s top women amateur golfers, including Bertine Strauss, Lara Weinstein and Bonita Bredenhann.
The strength of local women’s amateur golf is another incredible achievement for the South African game, and Sally Little, South Africa’s most successful women golfer, is confident that the local game is on the right track.
“These tournaments will give the girls a chance to expand their competitive experience and raise their games,” she said. “The only way to improve is through competition.”
A number of the girls competing in the Match Play Championship have been given entry into the SA Women’s Open to test their skills against a mix of South African and international professionals.
And much like in the men’s game, international women’s golf is marvelling at the talent South Africa is producing.
“I’m really looking forward to playing in the SA Women’s Open,” said LPGA Tour campaigner Lindsey Wright. “Lee-Anne Pace is such a phenomenal golfer, and Ashleigh Simon has got such a great swing. So I’m looking forward to coming out to South Africa and seeing what you’ve got going on with your golf over there.”
