Tandi relishing Lost City opportunity in SuperSport Ladies Challenge

Sun City hosts the SuperSport Ladies Challenge from Wednesday to Friday this week and veteran golfer Tandi McCallum believes playing the Lost City rather than the Gary Player Country Club will boost her chances of success.

McCallum finished second in 2020 at the Gary Player Country Club after she was edged out in a playoff by Lejan Lewthwaite.

“I’ve actually done better at Lost City. I won the Sun International Ladies Challenge there in 2014 and I prefer playing it to the Gary Player Country Club, which I know a lot of connoisseurs may frown upon. I just enjoy being there. It suits my eye and it rewards golfers who hit it very straight and putt well,” McCallum said.

“Lost City demands that you be a bit more strategic. It’s very firm on the side of the mountain and the undulating fairways mean you have got to be in good positions. The key is to be on the fairways, but they are so hard that you can’t overpower the course. I find Gary Player Country Club has more generous fairways.”

Fortunately much of the field playing in the SuperSport Ladies Challenge will be coming from the Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am held at Fancourt last week, which required them to be at their best in the adverse weather conditions.

McCallum played solidly enough to finish in a tie for 13th on 10-over-par, the winning score being Kylie Henry’s three-under-par 213.

The Scotswoman is teeing it up again at Lost City, with some of the other European golfers taking part in the Ladies European Tour event in Morocco this week.

“I didn’t play super-well on day three when there were fantastic conditions but a very challenging set-up, but it was good to shake off any rust and I was very happy to make the cut,” said McCallum.

“It’s great for us South Africans to be able to compare ourselves with the international players. This week there is an overlapping LET event, but we will still have a very competitive field at Lost City.”

Veteran Lee-Anne Pace, who charged up the leaderboard on the final day at Fancourt to finish second, will be looking to go one better this week and LPGA star and 2022 SuperSport Ladies Challenge winner Paula Reto is also in the field.

A young up-and-coming talent to watch is 19-year-old Gabrielle Venter who finished tied-fifth at the Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am, her best ever Sunshine Ladies Tour result.