Low tournament round 72 puts Strauss on course for SA Amateur Strokeplay

Bertine Strauss is perfectly placed to win her first Sanlam SA Women’s Amateur Strokeplay title after a second round 72 moved her to within striking distance of leaders going into the final round at Royal Cape Golf Club.

17-year-old Bertine Strauss from Rustenburg stands at three-over-par for her two rounds, just one shot shy of Monique Smit and Kim Williams, who both carded 75s to top the 36-hole leaderboard at two-over 150.

Strauss is tied for third alongside local favourite Yvette du Plessis and the Southern Cape’s Sandra Winter, the only other player to post a sub-par round – a one-under-par 73 on a cold and blustery day in Cape Town.

A further stroke back on five over is first round leader Lumien Orton (79) and Henriette Frylinck (76), with Western Cape stalwart Gilly Tebbut (79)alone in eighth at 154.

Strauss had started the day five shots behind Orton of the Free State, but went into gear quickly after a three-putt at the opening hole pushed her score to six-over.

The number one South African amateur birdied the third, seventh and eighth to race to the turn in three-over, then cut her deficit to two-over with birdie number four at the 10th. Although Strauss bogeyed the 17th after another three-putt, she finished strongly with a two-putt from 20-feet at the 18th to tie up the low score of the day.

“That was probably as solid as I could have played today,” said Strauss, who is chasing her 23rd amateur career title. “Apart from two bogeys, it could not have been any better and it was certainly an improvement over the first round.

She is certainly making it a habit of being in the final group in the final round.

In the last couple of months, she has added the Western Province and Eastern Cape Match Play Championships to her trophy case and recently finished second in the Kwazulu Natal Amateur Stroke Play and Match Play, both won by Williams.

“I’ve been playing well, but so has Kim and Monique. Sandra will be a tough competitor because she is so experienced. But this is a great golf course. It’s tough and it forces you to really concentrate and that is what I like doing.

“The delays yesterday didn’t do me any favours, because I struggled to get going and find focus. Today I knew I had to pull out the stops, because I had quite a lot of strokes to make up.”