Juniors primed for 54th SA Womens IPT action
The country’s top women amateurs will touch down in the Mother City this weekend for the 54th SA Womens Inter-Provincial at Royal Cape Golf Club from 6-10 October.
The championship layout will provide the stage for four days of intense competition for the 80 golfers contesting the A- and B- Divisions in the country’s largest national team championship.
“This is a high-energy tournament packed with four days of spirited challenges, high quality golf and tense battles between the 16 teams and it demands stamina, physical strength and mental fitness at the highest level,” said Womens Golf South Africa president, Karen Olivant.
“The Pick n Pay SA Womens Inter-Provincial annually showcases the incredible talent of women golfers in South Africa, but it also provides a wonderful platform for our junior golfers to put themselves to the test alongside the top senior amateurs in South Africa.
“Half the field in this year’s competition are juniors and all the teams feature junior players. Their inclusion aligns with Womens Golf South Africa’s vision for golf development and reinforces the encompassing nature of this team championship.”
Olivant said the national and provincial winner’s list has been dominated by juniors this season
“Carrie Park and Ivanna Samu, the respective winners of the Sanlam SA Women’s Stroke Play and Match Play Championship, are both juniors,” Olivant said.
“Our rising stars also dominated in the senior events on the provincial circuit and this speak volumes to the standard of the junior golf development in South Africa.”
Park, a three-time winner this season, will line up for Gauteng North A, while Samu, who claimed her fourth title at the Ackerman Championship on Sunday, will debut for Gauteng A.
The Western Province A attack will be led by Nomads SA Girls Rose Bowl and SA Girls Championship winner Cara Gorlei, who also lifted the Gauteng North Championship title and represented South Africa at the World Amateur Team Championships in Japan last month.
Provincial winners Eleonora Galletti and Kaleigh Telfer from Gauteng, Demi Flanagan from Border, Jamie-Lee Daniels from Eastern Province and Bianca Theron from Boland will also join the action at Royal Cape.
Defending champions Gauteng North and Gauteng will both field two teams in the A-Section, while the rest of the challengers for the Jean Tindall Memorial Trophy include Boland, Ekurhuleni, KwaZulu-Natal and hosts, Western Province.
The B-Section teams challenging for the Nolan Karp Trophy and the coveted promotion include Border, Eastern Province, Free State & Northern Cape, North West, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Southern Cape and Western Province B.
Written and released on behalf of Womens Golf South Africa by Lali Stander.