Folke forges to the front in George

Sweden’s Moa Folke shot a five-under-par 67 on Friday to take the first-round lead in the Sunshine Ladies Tour’s Dimension Data Ladies Challenge at George Golf Club.

Her seven birdies and two bogeys gave her a two-shot lead over Scotland’s Jane Turner and local Nadia van der Westhuizen, the winner of the SunBet Cape Town Ladies Open at Royal Cape last week.Namibia’s Bonita Bredenhann shared fourth with South Africa’s Tara Griebenow and Norway’s Michelle Forsland, all of whom were on two-under.

The first two rounds will be played at George Golf Club, and the action in the 54-hole tournament will move to the Outeniqua course at nearby Fancourt to decide the winner.

Folke started out with three birdies in her first six holes, before encountering something of a speed-wobble as she bogeyed seven and nine to reach the turn in one-under 35. She got all of that under control one her homeward nine, with birdies on 11, 13, 14 and 18 and no dropped shots.

“I played great from the start,” said Folke of her debut round on the Sunshine Ladies Tour.”I hit the ball really well and I made a lot of putts, and that usually makes for a good combination.”

It helps that she found the course to her liking.

“I really like the course,” she said. “It’s a fun course, and a little tricky. You have to think where you put your tee shots. It’s in great shape and I really like the greens. I’ve not played this course, but I have been to South Africa before. I really enjoy the weather and it’s really pretty.”

Behind her, Van der Westhuizen showed what confidence can do after her maiden Sunshine Ladies Tour win last week, and, starting out on the 10th, she turned in two-under-par 34 with birdies on 15 and 18. She dropped her only shot of the day on the par-four first, but birdies on six and nine saw her home in three-under 69.

Rounding out the top 10 were Sweden’s Linn Grant, and Zethu Myeki and Cara Gorlei of South Africa in a share of seventh on level-par, and Romy Meekers of the Netherlands and 2017 champion Nicole Garcia on one-over.

ROUND 1 SCORES:

67 Moa Folke SWE
69 Jane Turner SCO; Nadia van der Westhuizen
70 Bonita Bredenhann NAM; Tara Griebenow; Michelle Forsland NOR
72 Linn Grant SWE; Zethu Myeki; Cara Gorlei
73 Romy Meekers NED; Nicole Garcia
75 Thalia Martin ENG; Kelsey Nicholas
76 Emie Peronnin FRA; Ivanna Samu
77 Kirsty Mitchell SCO; Kim Williams; Vani Kapoor IND; Shawnelle de Lange; Lindi Coetzee
78 Brittney-Fay Berger; Madison Frerking USA; Larissa Du Preez
79 Julie Berton FRA; Eleonora Galletti (a); Sideri Vanova CZE; Siddhi Kapoor IND
80 Celine Karlung NOR; Lora Assad; Tandi McCallum; Stina Resen NOR
82 Carey Dodds (a)
83 Cassidy Williams; Emily Laskin USA; Lara Weinstein
84 Nina Grey (a); Kayla Saunders (a)
85 Lize-Mari Prinsloo (a); Leontine Petit (a); Kim de Klerk (a)
89 Grace Mitchell CAN
90 Sylken-Leigh November
93 Siviwe Duma