Swiss lead, SA inside top 20 at WWATC
Sisters Morgane and Kim Metraux fired rounds of 68 and 69 respectively to propel Switzerland to a one-stroke lead in the first round of the 27th Espirito Santo Trophy, while South Africa will start today’s second round in joint 18th at the Women’s World Amateur Team Championships (WWATC).
Switzerland took the top spot at seven-under-par total of 137, finishing one shot ahead of the Republic of Korea, winners in 1996, 2010 and 2012 at the par-72 Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club.
The South African team also started their campaign at the Mayaboba course on Tuesday, where Ivanna Samu and Cara Gorlei produced a pair of 74s to grab a share of 18th at four over 148 alongside the Czech Republic, Hong Kong China, Paraguay and Sweden. Kaleigh Telfer carded a non-counting 79.
“We had the perfect draw being first off and in perfect weather conditions, although still extremely hot and humid,” said Womens Golf South Africa national coach Val Holland. “Both courses are in immaculate condition with not a blade of grass out of place.
“Cara had a steady opening round of 74 after a few drops early on and the highlight of her day was a spectacular par at the 16th. She hit her driver in the water at the par five, took a penalty drop and hit her fourth from 105 yards to nine foot and made the putt.
“Ivanna had a solid start to her round and was two under through seven. She made a superb up-and-down at 10, a very tricky par three, but found trouble at the 11th. She had two soft drops to finish for her 74.”
Telfer made a great start when she drained a 20-foot birdie putt, but she battled over the next eight holes.
“Kaleigh’s front nine was up-and-down, but she kept fighting and finished well on her the nine,” said Holland. “The greens are running at a nice speed with some tough pin placements.”
Japan finished in third on 142, one shot ahead of the People’s Republic of China and two clear of the host nation. Thailand was sixth at 145, while Austria, Chinese Taipei, Ireland and USA tied for seventh.
For complete results, visit www.igfgolf.org.
ABOUT THE WOMEN’S WORLD AMATEUR TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
The Women’s World Amateur Team Championship is a biennial international amateur competition conducted by the International Golf Federation (IGF), which comprises 147 national governing bodies in 141 countries and 22 professional members.
The competition, which is being held for the 27th time, is rotated among three geographic zones: Asia-Pacific, Americas and Europe-Africa. This year’s event is hosted by the Mexican Golf Federation. The teams play for the Espirito Santo Trophy.
The IGF is the international federation for golf for the International Olympic Committee and conducted the Olympic golf competition in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. In each round, the total of the two lowest scores from each team constitutes the team score for the round. The four-day (72-hole) total is the team’s score for the championship.