Gorlei extends purple patch at Gauteng North Champs
Western Province junior Cara Gorlei established herself as real title contender when she claimed her second victory in as many weeks at the Gauteng North Championship on Monday.
Fresh from a three-way play-off victory at the prestigious Nomads SA Girls Championship in Orkney, Gorlei notched her third title this season with a two stroke victory on four-over-par 223 after rounds of 74, 73 and 76 at Wingate Park Country Club.
A 78 and a pair of 75s lifted Mpumalanga’s Monja Richards into second, while local favourite Chrystal Cooper tied for third on nine over 228 with KwaZulu-Natal’s Michaela Fletcher.
Cooper posted rounds of 78, 75 and 75, while Fletcher reduced the damage of a costly opening 81 with a second round 76 and a two under 71 in the final round.
Gorlei was one off the pace from first round leader, Kirsten Campbell, but opened up a yawning four stroke lead on the field in the second round.
After a less than satisfying start in the final round left her three over through five holes, the 18-year-old Milnerton golfer adopted a less aggressive strategy to march to victory.
“It was bitterly cold and very breezy in the final round, and we all struggled with the extreme conditions,” Gorlei said.
“The wind factor made it really difficult to score. I started bogey-par-double bogey, which is not the most promising way to try and win a tournament. I had never played Wingate before, but after a practice round and two rounds of competition, I knew I needed to keep out of trouble.
“If you hit it in the wrong spot, the bogeys pile on quickly. My birdie putts were not dropping anyway, so I didn’t do anything heroic. I just focussed on keeping the ball in play and minimizing the mistakes. It paid off because I made 13 straight pars from the sixth to the 18th.”
Gorlei broke through for her first victory at the Nomads SA Girls Rose Bowl Championship.
With success at the All-Africa Challenge Trophy in May and two more titles to her name, the mental barrier of achieving success has been broken and the rising star has set her sights on further glory.
“I felt like I was close all season and the last two weeks have been a great result for me,” she said. “There is still a lot to play for this year and more opportunities for me to step my game up to another level.”
Nadia van der Westhuizen carded rounds of 87, 81 and 90 to clinch the B-Division by six strokes from Adele Beytelon a winning score of 258.
A-Division Final Result (Top 20)
223 Cara Gorlei 74 73 76
225 Monja Richards 75 76 74
228 Crystal Cooper 78 75 75; Michaela Fletcher 81 76 71
233 Kirsten Campbell 73 80 80
235 Natasha Carlsson 75 80 80; Ivanna Samu 85 74 76; Ruzanne van der Walt 76 83 76
236 Mae Cornforth 77 77 82
237 Eugenie Clack 80 79 78; Imkeleen Meyer 78 82 77; Carrie Park 80 78 79; Izel Pieters 80 81 76; Kaleigh Telfer 82 77 78
238 Lora Ann Assad 79 81 78; Danielle du Toit 84 82 72
241 Jamie-Lee Daniels 79 79 83; Woo-Ju Son 78 82 81
243 Caro Els 78 78 87
244 Chevonne Botha 80 78 86; Jessica Shurety 82 81 81
B-Division (top four)
258 Nadia van der Westhuizen 87 81 90
264 Adele Beytell 86 87 91
268 Lenza de Jager 88 87 93
272 Khozi Mthiyane 89 89 94
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of Womens Golf South Africa