Gauteng launch title bid at Pick n Pay SA Womens IPT
Whenever a major team competition is played anywhere in the world, the fans love to quote the old adage Golf is played on grass, not on paper.
More often than not, the old saying rings true, but not on in Tuesday’s Qualifying Round at the 54th Pick n Pay SA Women’s Inter-Provincial in Cape Town.
Gunning for their first victory since 2006, Gauteng A rose into early ascendancy when they beat defending champions, Gauteng North A, by five strokes to claim the prestigious Jean Tindall Memorial Trophy.
Natasha Carlsson and Kaleigh Telfer put Gauteng A on the front foot with a 76 and reigning Sanlam SA Women’s Amateur champion Ivanna Samu and her partner, captain Lauren Bekker, responded with another 76 for a Foursomes total of 152.
Samu, a four-time winner this season, and Eleonora Galletti, a bronze medallist at the Africa Youth Games, both fired 76s to lay the foundation for victory in the afternoon Singles.
Telfer added a 78, while Shawnelle de Lange and Carlsson carded 79s for Singles total of 338.
Then the B-team showed their support by holding off local favourites Western Province A to take third on 552.
Kajal Mistry and Woo-Ju Son scored 79 and Ethel Ruthenberg and Jacqui Akers added an 82 to take their Foursomes total to 161.
Mistry fired a 76, Son shot a 77, Chiara Contomathios returned an 80, Jacqui Akers carded an 83 and Symone Henriques added an 83 for a Singles total of 391.
Province had to settle for fourth on 555, having scored 155 in the Foursomes and 400 in the Singles.
Gauteng A will face Western Province A, while the B-team will strut their stuff against the defending champions in Wednesday’s first round.
The remaining four teams in the A Division that will battle for B-Section honours are Boland, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng North A and Ekurhuleni.
B-DIVISION
North West Province aims to go all the way after coming up trumps in the B Division.
Frankie Bosman and Jhanelle Strydom scored 78, while Lindi Coetzee and Michelle Swanepoel combined for 85 to give the side an early edge on 163 in the Foursomes.
Swanepoel fired a 73, while Coetzee added an 80 and Strydom an 83 for Singles total of 236.
North West lifted the Nolan Karp Trophy with a total score of 399, finishing three strokes clear of Border.
Southern Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Free State & Northern Cape complete the line-up in the bottom half.
The format for the next three days will be morning Foursomes, followed by afternoon Singles.
SCORES AND TEE -TIMES:
Click HERE for A-Division Qualifying Round Results
Click HERE for first round tee-times: A-Division
Click HERE for B-Division Qualifying Round Results
Click HERE for first round tee-times: B-Division
Written and released on behalf of Womens Golf South Africa by Lali Stander.