SA stars keen to make a point in new Ladies Challenge

South Africa’s Sunshine Ladies Tour professionals are eager to grab the silverware after the overseas contingent’s conquest of the opening two tournaments this season when the new Fidelity ADT Ladies Challenge gets under way at Blue Valley Golf Estate from Wednesday.

The R250 000 Ladies Challenge makes its debut on the Sunshine Ladies Tour this week and adds significantly to an impressive eight-tournament schedule.

A local champion for the Fidelity Services Group, Southern Africa’s largest integrated security solutions provider and the industry leader in protection innovation, will certainly go down nicely.

The 2024 Sunshine Ladies Tour has teed off on a strong note with Scotland’s Kylie Henry opening the season with victory in the Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am at Fancourt and India’s Tvesa Malik then winning the SuperSport Ladies Challenge presented by Sun International at the Lost City.

But South Africa’s Lejan Lewthwaite believes this week’s Ladies Challenge offers the perfect opportunity for the local golfers to break that international hold.

“I believe it’s only a matter of time before we have a South African winner this season. There are a lot of really good local golfers and this is only the third event, so we are still getting into the season,” Lewthwaite said.

“I’m definitely confident in the talent we have and any one of us can win this week. But there are a lot of European golfers over in South Africa at the moment. A lot of the top players on the Order of Merit will be playing, so it is still a very strong field. We will have to keep our games on point.”

LEWTHWAITE FULL OF CONFIDENCE

Both Henry, who leads the Order of Merit, and Malik will be teeing it up on the Gary Player design, while Romy Meekers, Lauren Taylor, Ana Dawson and Helen Kreuzer are all in the top-10 of the standings and have entered this week.

Lewthwaite finished 20th at both Fancourt and Lost City and her review of her performance so far makes her feel confident that a strong performance is around the corner.

“I’m hitting the ball quite well but things have just not gone my way yet. That can be the difference between finishing 20th or top-10 and even contending. You need things to fall your way. But the game is there and I just need to build some momentum and I’ll be on my way. I enjoy Blue Valley, it’s a very nice course and should be in good condition. It’s pretty open off the tees and I just want to play to my own strengths, which is a sharp short game. I read the greens well so I’ll be pretty confident around Blue Valley,” Lewthwaite said.

Thomas Abt, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour and speaking on behalf of the Sunshine Ladies Tour, said: “Fidelity ADT is a widely respected and highly successful company and it’s a privilege for us to welcome them to the women’s professional golf fold. Their support is creating even more opportunities for our leading women’s golfers and helping to build the next generation of Sunshine Ladies Tour stars.”