Historic Nomads SA Girls Rose Bowl wins for Coetzer and Huxham

5 April 2025 – Her closing round of three-over-par 75 was enough to give Lisa Coetzer a two-stroke win as she became the first ever back-to-back winner in the Championship Division while Gemma Huxham celebrated a national breakthrough in the Silver Division of the 2025 Nomads SA Girls Rose Bowl Championship at Durbanville Golf Club.

Coetzer had played the 36 holes on the first day in one-over-par 73 and level-par 72 to keep herself in the hunt throughout the tournament.

In the first round, her 73 was two behind Casey Twidale’s and Zané Kleynhans’ one-under-par 71, with Kesha Louw on two-over 74 in fourth. In the second, the defending champion pulled within a shot of 36-hole leader Gia Raad, who had a superb 69 for the low round of the tournament. Kleynhans was a further shot back and Coetzer was four clear of Louw.

The 14-year-old made two crucial birdies in the closing round, on the second and the 15th, to offset some of the damage done by bogeys on the first, third, sixth, 16th and 17th. In the end, her 75 was the best final round, and the closing par secured the victory.

“I was only one back of Gia going into the last round, and I decided not to focus on my playing partners at all, but to focus purely on my own game. I played shot for shot, hole by hole and that seemed to work,” Coetzer said.

“I had a rocky start when I went bogey-birdie-bogey, and I knew I needed to start hitting greens. I was struggling with the putter but by hitting them on a good line at good speed, the putts dropped every now and then, and I just stuck to it.”

Having birdied the 15th to get a three-stroke lead, she immediately put her tee shot in the trees on 16. She hit her second into the trees as well. “I was trying to hit a hook around the trees,” she said, “and for my third shot, I was just trying to get it out of trouble, and I hit it into the trees at the side of the green. I hit a good chip and a good putt for bogey.

“And when we go to 18, my stress levels were really high going into the last putt, but as I walked up to the putt, everything just went quiet in my head, and I knew I had done it.”

Only Catherine Lau won the Nomads SA Girls Rose Bowl Championship twice since the event launched in 2007, but her wins came three years apart – in 2013 and 2016 – and Coetzer was thrilled to have her name etched on the prestigious trophy as the first successive champion.

“It was really exciting winning it for a second time, purely because no-one has ever gone back-to-back,” said Coetzer. “It really tells me that all my hard work is paying off.

In the Silver Division, 12-year-old Huxham hit the front from the start, with her rounds of 84, 83 and 84 giving her a two-stroke win over Chloe Utterson. Milani Sikhonde was third a further shot back.

Huxham shared the lead with Utterson, Gabriella Dolan and Mia Brewer after the first round. They were on clear of Ana-Maria Firer and Chantaylee Visser. She was three clear after the second round, with Utterson and Vuyolwethu Nkota in a share of second.

In the final round, identical loops of six-over 42 took Huxham clear of Utterson who closed with 83.

“I enjoyed the final round very much,” said Huxham after her victory.

“I chipped it short quite a lot, and the ball was running out a lot because the greens were extremely fast. My strategy was to go out have fun. If I didn’t stay in first place, I should just enjoy the round.

“I am really happy. It’s my second win in a GolfRSA tournament after winning the B-Division in the Gauteng North Girls Open, but this is my first win on the national stage. It’s incredible to realise how far I have come in just two years since I played my first Nomads SA Girls Rose Bowl.”