Mid-Amateurs ready to light up Graceland
Top Southern Cape golfer Sonja Bland has targeted victory in the South African Mid-Amateur Championship that tees off at Graceland Hotel, Casino and Country Club on Monday and the George golfer is bringing some great form to Mpumalanga.
Playing against South Africa’s top amateurs and juniors, Bland tied for eighth at the Ekurhuleni Open in September and finished joint 14th at the recent Ackerman Championship at Royal Cape. She was also pivotal in helping Southern Cape secure second place in the B-Division at the Pick n Pay SA Women’s Inter-Provincial in September.
Bland, who finished third in last year’s event at Kingswood, will lead the championship division into battle and the five-handicap player should feel right at home at the Gary Player-designed 18-hole championship layout.
The course is a typical inland links design that shares a lot of features like rolling fairways, tight greens and elevation changes with the nine-time Major winner’s three courses at Fancourt, where Bland resides.
But Bland will in for some tough competition against East London’s Millie Zim Dondashe and Amanda Ogden from ERMP Golf Club in Ekurhuleni, who also featured prominently at the Inter-Provincial at Port Elizabeth Golf Club.
Desi Earl from Polokwane, Bloemfontein’s Carina Theron and Sheryl Matthews from Randpark complete the championship line-up.
Meanwhile Valda Ford and Erica Botha from Ruimsig Country Club will put their friendship aside for 54 holes as they battle for the B-Division honour. The pair of 10-handicaps would do well, though, to keep an eye on Lorraine Smit from Krugersdorp. The C-Division champion last year, Smit will definitely be looking to add another trophy from this national championship to her mantel.
Meanwhile Sue Marques from Bosch Hoek, Pam Sanders from Ladysmith and Vryheid’s Adele van Deventer will lead a strong KwaZulu-Natal charge in the C-Division for handicaps 19-24.