Williams wary of SA trio at Sanlam Women’s SA Stroke Play

Lali Stander reports

Good technique, hard work and big hearts are what make Nobuhle Dlamini and Alana van Greuning such formidable opponents. And a wise head on mature shoulders and a prodigious talent yet to be fully polished, is what gives 17-year-old Lara Weinstein her incredible edge.

This is how the country’s top amateur golfer Kim Williams described her three greatest rivals ahead of her title defence at next week’s Sanlam Women’s Amateur SA Stroke Play Championship.
Williams will be chasing her third successive Stroke Play title at Umhlali Country Club in KwaZulu-Natal from 14 – 17 April and these are the players she expects to derail her dream.
“Nobby (Dlamini) and Alana are incredible competitors who don’t give an inch before the last putt drops,” said Williams. “Lara is just starting to scratch the surface of her potential and her track record since the start of the 2012 season speaks volumes.

“I’m ready to launch my title defence but I’m well aware of what these girls have achieved this year. I’ve lost twice to Nobby this season, Alana has shown great form and Lara has been reeling in victories. They are right behind me on the rankings and they are going to be tough to beat.”

Mpumalanga’s Van Greuning claimed the Border Match Play title in February and also challenged at the Western Province Match Play, where she lost in the final. The Secunda golfer also claimed top five finishes at the Western Province, KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Eastern Cape Stroke Play Championships and is currently ranked second in the country.

Dlamini, an international bursary student from Swaziland, is currently completing her second academic year in her BSportScience degree – with specialization in golf – at the High Performance Centre at the University of Pretoria.
She won the Sanlam SA Women’s Amateur Match Play title in 2010 and was the most valued player of the Swaziland team at the 2010 All Africa Championships. In 2011, Dlamini won the Women’s Stroke Play at the 2011 SA Student Championship.

Dlamini, a finalist in the Sanlam Women’s Amateur SA Match Play last year, also tied for fourth in the Stroke Play. This year she underlined her growing stature by winning the Eastern Cape Match Play and Stroke Play Championships in Port Elizabeth, the North West Stroke Play Championship in Potchefstroom and the KwaZulu-Natal Match Play Championship at Martizburg Golf Club. She also successfully defended her title as the University of Pretoria’s Women’s Club Champion with a 36-hole total gross score of 19-under-par 125 at Centurion Country Club.

And teenager Weinstein could certainly upset the apple cart. In three short months, the Holy Rosary High School matriculant claimed success in the Border Stroke Play, the KeNako World Juniors, became the first female to win an event on the Glacier Junior Series since it launched in 2010 and won the KZN Stroke Play by a massive nine strokes.

Other players who could also pose a threat to Williams’ quest for three titles in a row include Western Province Match Play winner Nicole Loesch and Kelly Erasmus, who won the Nomads SA Girls Rose Bowl at Pearl Valley last week.
“I will focus on my own game, but I’ll still keep them all in my sights, because the slightest mishap will open the door and they will go barrelling through,” she said.

Sanlam Group Marketing Sponsorship manager, Gary van Loggerenberg, said Sanlam’s involvement with the SA Women’s Match Play and Stroke Play Championships is in line with their vision to promote and develop the game of golf among amateurs in South Africa.

“In addition to our flagship event, the Sanlam Cancer Challenge, and our title sponsorship of the SAGES, we have supported amateur golf at the highest level with our sponsorships of the Men’s SA Amateur and the Women’s SA Amateur Match Play and Stroke Play.

“Sanlam is privileged to be the principal sponsor of the two most prestigious title’s on the women’s amateur circuit for an eighth year running and to promote and support the growth of golf among women in South Africa.”

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