Reigning SA Women’s Amateur champion Gia Raad kept her cool on Friday after an early double-bogey, and carded a one-under-par 71 at Leopard Creek to close out a two-stroke victory in the R&A Amateur Africa Women’s Invitational.
That calmness not only gained her the title, but also invitations to compete in the Women’s Amateur Championship, Final Qualifying for the AIG Women’s Open, the Joburg Ladies Open, the Investec South African Women’s Open and the Waterfall City Tournament of Champions powered by Attacq.
“I’m really lucky,” she said of the doors that have opened for her.
“I have a lot of school to do, so I’m really going to try hard to practice and study at the same time. These opportunities don’t come around often and it means the world to me. It’s so amazing that we get these opportunities, even to play at this course and get to qualify for all those things. It’s just crazy.”
And the trophy to crown our new Africa Amateur Women's Invitational champion 🏆 pic.twitter.com/fmBP21hrdv
— Africa Amateur Championship (@AfricaAmChamp) February 7, 2025
It could all have gone pear-shaped after the 17-year-old dropped two shots on the long par-five second hole, but she did the right thing by working diligently to get those early losses back.
Birdies on the tricky par-three fifth and the sixth got her back to level-par and in a position to fight off any challenge that might have been thrown her way by of Bobbi Brown, who eventually finished runner-up.
Gia's winning moment 🥰 pic.twitter.com/3agPBA3Wcj
— Africa Amateur Championship (@AfricaAmChamp) February 7, 2025
“It actually wasn’t a huge lead,” said Raad, who won the English Girls Stroke Play and Nomads SA Girls Championships back-to-back in 2023.
“Bobbi caught up to me, and I made a couple of mistakes, especially I made one on the second hole, but I just tried to keep my composure and tried to stick to my game plan, and it just worked out in my favour.”
Brown had made three birdies on the front nine in her attempt to chase down Raad, but four bogeys saw her turn in one-over 36.
That made it increasingly likely that Raad was going to do much better than her third-place finish in last year’s inaugural event.
Brown bogeyed 10 but rallied with an eagle-two on the 11th which Raad bogeyed, making things feel just a little tighter.
However, a Brown bogey at the 12th gave Raad a little breathing room, and she took advantage of that by making consecutive birdies on 14 and 15.
'MEANS THE WORLD'
“On the back nine I could start to feel the nerves,” said Raad. “My tummy was going crazy. But Bobbi and kept cheering each other on. We have a really good friendship, so it was helpful, because she actually helped me to keep calm.”
In the end, those birdies on the back nine were enough, even though Brown continued with her charge, making three birdies in the final six holes.
That included a realistic eagle chance on 18, where her 20-footer shaved the hole.
She signed for a two-under 70, leaving Raad to lag her birdie putt to inside two feet, and cleaned up for par and the win at four-under-par for the week.
Playing with Raad and Brown in the final match, GolfRSA No 1 Lisa Coetzer carded a two-over-par 74 to claim third place on her own at three-over.
“Even though I’m playing against them, Bobbi, Lisa and myself really enjoyed ourselves today,” said Raad.
“It’s always nice to have some friends playing with you, even when you are playing against each other.
“To win means the world. I came into this event not so confident of my game, so I’m so proud of myself and I’m really grateful to be here. Last year I saw just how amazing it was, and I knew that I had to come back and try again.”
Chanelle Mwangi of Kenya finished fourth on 12-over after her closing two-over 74, and Kesha Louw carded a final round of five-over 77 for fifth place on 16-over-par.