Stacy Bregman sank a curling 20-footer for birdie on the first play-off hole on Saturday to celebrate her first win in over five years as she took the inaugural Standard Bank Ladies Open at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington’s West Course.
Bregman narrowly missed a birdie putt to win it from Lee-Anne Pace from a nearly identical position in regulation play, but it was a perfectly judged effort in the play-off as she beat Pace to break a victory drought which had lasted five years and three months.
“I’m ecstatic,” she said. “It’s been a while, and I’ve had a couple of tough years, and that makes this really special.”
The play-off happened when Pace pulled off a trademark birdie-birdie finish in regulation play to close out a final round of three-under-par 69. Bregman had to fight off the nerves after holding the 36-hole lead. She made bogeys on the fourth and again, crucially, on the 13th, as she signed for a closing level-par 72.
“I had said to Neal Herman, my caddie, that we were just going to go out there and have a bit of fun,” said Bregman. “That’s because I haven’t been the best on the golf course attitude-wise. I just tried to change my attitude a bit, which has obviously helped. Everyone has said for a long time that I need to do that, and I think it eventually clicked.
“I also just backed myself a little bit more than I have been. Sometimes when you’re struggling, you forget that you can play this game. I know I can, and I proved it to myself this weekend. I came out with the victory and I’m very proud of myself.”
It wasn’t just that personal pressure and the knowledge that Pace was in pursuit that she had to deal with.
Rookie Kiera Floyd put up a doughty challenge and her power off the tee putting her in positions that gave her plenty of opportunities. She got it to five-under through 11 holes, and, with enough holes ahead of her, including the par-five 18th, she had every right to expect to push for a win.
But a bogey on 12, and pressing just a little too hard, left her one-stroke out of the play-off in third place on four-under. Bonita Bredenhann from Namibia and Cara Gorlei finished a further stroke back in joint fourth.
For Bregman, all the doubts about choices made and missed putts in that final round were dispelled as her putt went in on the play-off hole, and Pace’s narrowly missed. “It just shows that my game is in good shape,” she said. “I held up under pressure there, and to make a birdie on the play-off hole shows that I’ve still got it. I wasn’t thinking much standing over the putt, actually. I just stuck to my processes. You can’t really think of the outcome. I just tried to read it as best I could, put the best speed on it, and let nature take its course. In the end, it worked in my favour.”
Bregman was really pleased with the opportunity Standard Bank presented with the new tournament on the Sunshine Ladies Tour schedule. “Without sponsors like Standard Bank, women’s golf in South Africa wouldn’t be where it is today,” she said. “There are so many up-and-coming amateurs, young pros that have been given a real chance to compete when they didn’t have anything outside the six tournaments at the beginning of the year. I think you’re going to see the level of women’s golf in South Africa really rise.”
Reigning SA Women’s Amateur Stroke Play champion Samantha Whateley took the amateur honours on four-over-par 220. The Country Club Johannesburg golfer finished in a tie for 11th with Lora Assad after posting rounds of 75, 71 and 74.
SA Women’s Amateur Championship finalist Ellandri van Heerden, who plays out of Bloemfontein Golf Club, was next best. Rounds of 74, 75 and 74 saw the 15-year-old finish in 16th place on her own on a score of seven-over 223.
FINAL RESULT
211 - Stacy Bregman 71 68 72 (play-off)
211 - Lee-Anne Pace 70 72 69
212 - Kiera Floyd 71 70 71
214 - Bonita Bredenhann NAM 70 75 69; Cara Gorlei 67 73 74
215 - Nadia van der Westhuizen 73 69 73; Tandi McCallum 68 73 74
216 - Nicole Garcia 70 73 73
217 - Casandra Alexander 70 76 71; Ivanna Samu 73 71 73
220 - Lora Assad 77 72 71; Samantha Whateley (a) 75 71 74
221 - Zethu Myeki 75 73 73; Brittney-Fay Berger 75 71 75
222 - Tara Griebenow 73 75 74
223 - Ellandri van Heerden (a) 74 75 74
225 - Bronwyn Doeg 74 76 75
226 - Lenanda van der Watt 75 77 74
227 - Kelsey Nicholas 72 74 81
228 - Cara Ford (a) 78 76 74; Lindi Coetzee 76 76 76
230 - Kaylan Boshoff 78 78 74
232 - Gabrielle Venter 78 78 76; Zane Kleynhans (a) 79 80 73
233 - Yolanda Duma 80 77 76
234 - Michelle Leigh 78 79 77; Shawnelle de Lange 81 74 79
235 - Lynette Fourie 78 80 77
238 - Charlotte Millard (a) 79 78 81; Larissa Du Preez 80 79 79; Federica Biscuoli ITA 80 81 77
239 - Chante van Zyl 85 75 79
242 - Francesca Cuturi 74 83 85
243 - Nicola Schoeman (a) 77 81 85; Chantel Schmidt 85 78 80
245 - Suzette Venter 85 77 83; Kim Williams 84 78 83; Kim de Klerk 82 84 79
246 - Siviwe Duma 84 78 84; Morgana Robbertze 81 85 80
252 - Michelle de Vries 81 88 83
255 - Caryn Louw 89 85 81
261 - Christine van Cittert 87 87 87; Julie Bruyns-Leach 89 88 84
264 - Crizelda Terblanche 91 87 86
265 - Lourenda Steyn (a) 93 90 82
272 - Madeleen Grosskopf 94 91 87