Ashleigh to defend her Turkish Championships

Ashleigh Holmes will be joined by Yvette du Plessis and Kim Williams as she defends the title she won in 2008 at the Turkish Open Amateur Women’s Championship. For the first time, two South African men Coenie Bester and Johan Bekker will be competing in the men’s championship.

The team met up at Dubai Airport where they looked forward to a day on the town, but with visas costing R1500 per person, the players decided to “chill” in the luxurious airport lounge instead.

The event will be played at the Championship ‘Old’ Course at the Gloria Golf Resort in Antlaya-Belek which has hosted four European Seniors Tour events and is one of the host courses for the World Amateur Team Championships 2012.

With its tree lined fairways and seven freshwater lakes it is one of the most challenging courses in Turkey designed by Michel Gayon and opened in October 2006. It is a par 72 totaling 6181 metres in length.

The three South African ladies are in top form, all having broken par in the qualifying round of the recent Pick n Pay SA Women’s Inter-Provincial, played at Paarl Golf Club two weeks ago. Both Kim and Yvette broke the course record with four-under-par 68s and Ashleigh returned a two-under-par 70.

The championship gets under way on Thursday 1 October with the final round being played on Sunday.