South Africa’s Danielle du Toit and Kiera Floyd joined a four-way tie for the lead after a tough first round of the SuperSport Ladies Challenge presented by Sun International at Sun City on Wednesday.
The Gary Player Country Club course showed its teeth as Du Toit and Floyd as well as India’s Vidhatri Urs and Spain’s Harang Lee all posted opening rounds of two-under-par 70 to lead by one stroke.
The challenge posed by the Gary Player Country Club course was evident, with only nine players managing to shoot a score under par on day one of this Sunshine Ladies Tour event.
Du Toit found some trouble on the front nine, including a double-bogey on the par-four sixth hole.
“I think I played the golf course scared. I was very tentative on every shot I hit and that snowballed. You can’t do that ever. On the sixth I was in the bunker, and then I somehow could not get it on the green. It was just a mess,” she said.
But she managed to find some rhythm on her way back to the clubhouse, rolling in four birdies for a share of the lead.
“I just looked at my caddie and said I am playing scared golf, now I am just going to line it up, hit it well and have some faith in it. After that I started swinging freely and the momentum just rolled and a couple of putts fell.”
But Du Toit is not about to get ahead of herself on a golf course set up to punish anything hit offline.
“If you hit it in the rough here you are dead. I have my game plan to take out all the trouble and swing freely. Basically the same way I played back nine today.”
Casandra Alexander, the 2023 champion and last week’s Jabra Ladies Classic winner, fell victim to an unforgiving par-five 18th hole (the traditional ninth, but with the nines swopped for this tournament) as she carded an eight here on her way to a one-over-par 73.
SCORES
70 - Vidhatri Urs (IND), Kiera Floyd, Danielle du Toit, Harang Lee (ESP)
71 - Emma Falcher (FRA), Karoline Lund (NOR), Nadia van der Westhuizen, Sofie Kibsgaard (DEN), Elina Nummenpaa (FIN)
72 - Chantal Dueringer (AUT), Emie Peronnin (FRA)
73 - Stacy Bregman, Gabrielle Venter, Nobuhle Dlamini (SWZ), Pasqualle Coffa (NED), Casandra Alexander, Kajal Mistry, Lorna McClymont (SCO)
74 - Kaiyuree Moodley, Anne-Charlotte Mora (FRA)
75 - Lisa Coetzer (a), Claire Minter (ZIM), Hannah Arnold (USA), Lee-Anne Pace, Hannah Karg (GER), Brittney-Fay Berger, Andrea Bergsdottir (ISL), Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir (ISL), Lucie Malchirand (FRA)
76 - Bobbi Brown (a), Katherine Hollern (USA), Nayanika Sanga (IND), Jane Turner (SCO), Thalia Martin (ENG), Bonita Bredenhann (NAM), Clara Pietri (SUI), Carolin Kauffmann (GER), Tiia Koivisto (FIN), Symone Henriques, Celina Sattelkau (GER), Chloe Salort (FRA), Madelene Stavnar (NOR)
77 - Zethu Myeki, Maiken Bing Paulsen (NOR), Nina Pegova (WHT), Ivanna Samu, Romy Meekers (NED), Isabella Deilert (SWE)
78 - Charlotte Millard (a), Rosie Belsham (ENG), Tiffany Arafi (SUI), Anne-Lise Caudal (FRA), Kelsey Nicholas, Nikki Hofstede (NED), Andrea Lignell (SWE), Abigail O'Riordan (IRL)
79 - Katrina Gillum (ENG), Ananya Garg (IND), Isabella van Rooyen, Olivia Mehaffey (NIR), Tandi McCallum, Lenanda van der Watt, Laura Beveridge (SCO), Shannon O'Dwyer (ENG)
80 - Kim de Klerk, Selena Costabile (CAN), Leontine Petit (FRA), Lora Assad
81 - Isabella Holpfer (AUT), Shawnelle de Lange, Cara Gorlei, Linn Wiberg (SWE)
82 - Yolanda Duma, Judith van der Voort (NED), Lindi Coetzee, Vanessa Knecht (SUI), Bronwyn Doeg, Cara Ford
83 - Natasha Fear (ESP), Ellie Vorster (CAN)
84 - Jahaanvie Walia (ZAM), Michelle Forsland (NOR), Marta Perez Sanmartin (ESP), Louisa Carlbom (SWE)
85 - Anais Meyssonnier (FRA)
86 - Molly Lumley (ENG), Hanna Tauber (GER)
87 - Crizelda Terblanche
88 - Chante van Zyl
89 - Chante de Lange
95 - Michelle Swanepoel