Kaylee Webster won what was perhaps the most entertaining match of the day on Wednesday in the South African Women’s Amateur Championship at PE Golf Club – The Hill when she beat Isabella Ferreira 1-up in the round of 16.
Earlier in the day, the 16-year-old Webster had dispatched Alieke van Zyl 4&2 in the round of 32, but the battle in the afternoon was gripping.
“We made birdies on every par-five leading up to 18, and we were halving all the time,” said Webster. “I made an eagle on three when I holed out from 103. But Isabella just brought it back and she kept making birdies as well.
“When we got to 18, I tried to keep it under the wind from the tee box and I ended up pulling it. Thankfully, I was lying nicely. I hit my three-wood out and the wind took it underneath a tree. I probably had the punch shot of my life to about two metres and I boxed the putt.”
That gave Webster the win and a passage into the quarterfinals. “I am definitely thrilled to be making the quarterfinals for the first time,” she said. “It feels great. I played really good golf this week, and I definitely wanted it more than previous years. I fought harder and I just played great golf to get here.”
'TOTALLY DIFFERENT MINDSET'
For 14-year-old Lisa Coetzer, a brace of wins – over Alexis Toriani 5&4 in the round of 32, and over Zané Kleynhans 1-up in the round of 16 – went some way to assuaging the pain she must have felt after a poor final round in the stroke play the day before.
“Match play is a completely different game for me, and a totally different mindset,” said Coetzer. “It was a complete mental shift for me and that seemed to work.
“It was a tough match against Zané. We’re really good friends as well, so that makes it even harder. I played really well, and she also put up a good fight, but I managed to do it.”
For Coetzer, making a big statement with her putting is the key to match play success. “In match play, the long putts matter the most for me, because they give you momentum to go to the next hole, and you opponent gets scared whenever you have another putt like that,” she said.
That mindset is going to be important for her as she progresses deeper into the tournament than she ever has. “I haven’t made it to the quarterfinals before, so I’m a bit nervous but I know I can do it,” said Coetzer. “It will be the same game plan. I get a bit more aggressive in match play. I can make a big number and if I lose the hole, it’s just one hole and you can always come back from that.”
In another tightly contested match in the round of 16, Olivia Wood bested Bobbi Brown 2&1, after beating Zaayan Hendricks in the round of 32 in the morning.
TAKING IT SHOT BY SHOT
Her success, like Coetzer’s, came after an indifferent final round of the stroke play. “I struggled a lot in the stroke play,” said the 18-year-old. “It was a tough day in the last round. The putter was cold for the three days and even this morning, I struggled on the greens. But I’m really happy it came right this afternoon. It was a tough game with Bobbi. She played really well, and I’m just really happy that I got it done.”
She had success in the match play last year, but she’s tempering her expectations this time around. “Last year, I reached the final, but this year, you can’t come in with the same expectation,” she said. “There are so many good golfers playing in this field, so you have to take it shot by shot, and day by day.”
She knows just what she needs to concentrate on if she is to repeat, or exceed, her showing from last year: “My secret to success in match play is short game,” she said. “It’s all short game. You can save yourself with solid putting from six feet.”
And just before that match finished, 15-year-old Lourenda Steyn got herself a comfortable 4&3 win over Maegan Webster in the round of 16. She beat Holly Erler 6&4 in the morning in the round of 32.
“It was really nice to get that big win this afternoon,” said Steyn. “Playing this morning was tough against Holly. The wind was blowing really badly, and I just kept my cool. I didn’t start well in the afternoon match, and I said to myself that I had to play the course, not the opponent, and from there on, I went three-under and that helped me a lot.”
Defending champion Gia Raad made it safely to the quarters with a 5&4 win over Jasmine Furstenburg in the morning and a 4&3 win over Casey Twidale in the afternoon, while GolfRSA No 1 Kesha Louw saw off Lucia Mhlabane 5&4 in the round of 32 and Shannon Butler 4&3 in the round of 16.
The other quarterfinalists will be Olivia Tait and Megan Marais.
In the flight division, Isabella Obray plays Odette Booysen and Jaden Visagie takes on Lonique Jansen van Vuuren. Twin sisters Ame van der Merwe, who beat Shivania Kalimuthu 3/2 and Lea, who defeated Erin Brinkman 7/6, face off against Amy Stanton and England’s Tess Samuels respectively. If both win, the pair will face each other in the afternoon semifinals.