Kim Williams to defend her SA Stroke Play title at Umhlali

Kim Williams will defend her Sanlam SA Stroke Play title for the second time when the SA Amateur is played at Umhlali Country Club from 15 to 17 April.

The +1 handicapped Williams picked up the double in 2010 but in 2011, after successfully defending her stroke play title, former amateur Iliska Verwey defeated Nobuhle Dlamini to take the match play championship away from SA team mate Kim Williams.

Most of South Africa’s top players will be competing at Umhlali, including +3 handicapped Nobuhle Dlamini who won both the stroke play and match play in the Eastern Cape Championship, the North West stroke play and the KwaZulu Natal match play championships.

The other player on form ahead of the amateur is 17-year old Lara Weinstein who took the Border and KwaZulu Natal stroke play championship, the international SA KeNako Junior Series and various junior championships. Due to her matric year commitments, she has not participated in the match play events this year.

Other players in the field include Namibian Bonita Bredenhann now playing out of Ekurhuleni and Monja Richards, recently returned to the amateur ranks. History is being made as WGSA presents the first stand-alone 54 hole Sanlam South African Women’s Stroke Play Championship.

The decision to split the South African Amateur into a Stroke Play and a separate Match Play championship was taken after the amateur last year. The Match Play event will be known as the Sanlam South African Women’s Amateur Championship which will start with a 36 hole pre-qualifying stroke play event to be held at Benoni Country Club in July. This is a natural progression, as South African women’s golf at the elite level has grown significantly in quality and numbers in recent years.

The tournament is once again hosting a number of players from north of our borders – Namibia, Swaziland, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Tanzania.

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