With three Rugby World Cup winners in her pro-am fourball on Wednesday, Casandra Alexander is chasing her own “World Cup” this week as she seeks to add her name alongside the greats of South African golf with a victory in the Investec South African Women’s Open at Royal Cape Golf Club.
Rugby World Cup winners Schalk Burger, Schalk Brits and Steven Kitshoff all turned up to play an official pro-am round with South Africa’s top-ranked Alexander, who this week climbed to a career high of 40th on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
And after losing in a playoff for last week’s Joburg Ladies Open, Alexander has her sights firmly set on the Investec South African Women’s Open crown.
“I’m excited for the week. This is the big one. It’s our home title. It’s the one every South African wants to win. It’s definitely a special week,” she said at the venerable Royal Cape Golf Club ahead of Thursday’s first round of this Sunshine Ladies Tour and Ladies European Tour co-sanctioned tournament.
Alexander finished second in this event last year, and also has previous finishes of fourth and seventh in her national Open.
As she continues her climb up the world rankings and as the dominant face of South African women’s professional golf, a victory in the Investec South African Women’s Open would be a very timely confirmation of her undoubted rise in the game.
“I actually got a Facebook reminder of my post last year after I won the Investec Order of Merit, and I’d written that I was really happy to jump into the top 100 in the world. It’s pretty cool to see that this time last year I was top 100 and now I’m top 40. Hopefully we keep going. It’s something I’m proud of, but at the same time you have to keep working on it because it’s so easy to drop down again,” she said.
“I’ve been playing this golf course since I was young. We’ve also had a few Sunshine Ladies Tour events here over the years. I like the course. It’s a great layout and if the wind gets going it can be tough. You’ve also got to hit good tee shots with the trees here. It is very soft with all the rain we’ve had so I think the scores will be low. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Her own challenge comes at a time when Investec have strengthened their significant commitment to the women’s game in South Africa.
“This is our ninth consecutive year as title sponsor of the Investec South African Women’s Open, and we’re at the oldest golf club in South Africa this week. We’ve deepened our investment in South African women’s golf with a five-year renewal of our sponsorship of the Investec South African Women’s Open, the Investec Order of Merit, the Investec Homegrown Award and our sponsored golfers, and from next year we’ll be adding R1 million to the prize purse as we continue to address pay parity and elevate the national Open, and give our women’s professionals and the talent we have in this country the opportunity to play, perform and earn,” said Peta Dixon, Head of Sponsorships, Investec.
IMAGE: (From Left to Right): Schalk Brits, Casandra Alexander, Schalk Burger and Steven Kitshoff at the
Investec South African Women’s Open pro-am at Royal Cape Golf Club on Wednesday. Photo Credit: Tristan Jones/LET