Swopping out her regular white golf ball for a pink ball during her round made all the difference to multiple Sunshine Ladies Tour winner Casandra Alexander’s second round in the Platinum Ladies Open at the par-71 Blair Atholl Golf and Equestrian Estate course on Thursday.
Alexander shot a second consecutive five-under-par 66 to take the lead on 10 under par, dropping only one shot during her second round.
She leads by one over South Africa’s Tandi McCallum and England’s Hayley Davis going into Friday’s final round.
“I had a really slow start to the front nine. I started with a drop and then made a hallelujah putt on the par-five fifth to bring it back. I then made a bunch of pars in a row and said to my caddie, let’s change our ball to a different colour - a little bit of superstition going on there, I guess. Maybe there are some birdies in my pink ball and yes, things started getting going from there. I started firing through the back nine after a very long and boring front nine,” she said.
Alexander has had an impressive season to date on this year’s Sunshine Ladies Tour, claiming a win at the Jabra Ladies Classic in February and posting two top-three performances in the Standard Bank Ladies Open and the SuperSport Ladies Challenge.
“I think generally as a team we’ve made some good improvements to be able to play courses that don’t suit me and to get the ball in the hole no matter what the situation.
“Today my back was a little sore, so I knew I was going to have to manage how I play. I wasn’t going to hit them as close and I was working with that, so I think just identifying when we are not in the firing zone or the golf course doesn’t suit us and how we manage that - my team and I have done a great job with that.”
McCallum maintained her second place position during Thursday’s second round with a score of four-under-par 67 and nine under par for the tournament.
SCORES
132 - Casandra Alexander 66 66
133 - Hayley Davis (ENG) 65 68, Tandi McCallum 66 67, Fernanda Lira (MEX) 70 63
135 - Karoline Lund (NOR) 64 71, Gabrielle Venter 67 68, Bonita Bredenhann (NAM) 68 67
136 - Maiken Bing Paulsen (NOR) 66 70, Cara Gorlei 70 66, Emma Grechi (FRA) 69 67, Danielle du Toit 70 66, Lora Assad 67 69, Vidhatri Urs (IND) 69 67
137 - Kaiyuree Moodley 68 69, Nikki Hofstede (NED) 65 72, Olivia Mehaffey (NIR) 72 65
138 - Rosie Belsham (ENG) 70 68, Kiera Floyd 71 67, Romy Meekers (NED) 68 70, Nobuhle Dlamini (SWZ) 70 68, Emie Peronnin (FRA) 70 68, Zethu Myeki 71 67, Mayka Hoogeboom (NED) 66 72, Demi Flanagan 69 69
139 - Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir (ISL) 69 70, Nadia van der Westhuizen 69 70
140 - Madelene Stavnar (NOR) 68 72, Carolin Kauffmann (GER) 69 71, Elina Nummenpaa (FIN) 66 74, Ana Dawson (IMN) 71 69, Hanna Tauber (GER) 73 67, Selena Costabile (CAN) 70 70, Isabella van Rooyen 72 68, Esme Hamilton (ENG) 69 71
141 - Emma Falcher (FRA) 71 70, Lorna McClymont (SCO) 70 71, Chantal Dueringer (AUT) 70 71, Stacy Bregman 72 69, Laura Beveridge (SCO) 70 71, Lindi Coetzee 70 71, Anais Meyssonnier (FRA) 70 71
Missed the cut:
142 - Lenanda van der Watt 71 71, Lee-Anne Pace 73 69, Celina Sattelkau (GER) 69 73, Tiffany Arafi (SUI) 69 73, Louisa Carlbom (SWE) 72 70, Corinne Viden (SWE) 71 71
143 - Michelle Forsland (NOR) 72 71, Anne-Charlotte Mora (FRA) 71 72, Larissa Du Preez 71 72, Pasqualle Coffa (NED) 74 69, Symone Henriques 73 70, Cara Ford 69 74
144 - Nina Pegova (WHT) 73 71, Kelsey Nicholas 74 70, Bronwyn Doeg 73 71
145 - Ivanna Samu 74 71, Canice Screene (IRL) 74 71, Clara Pietri (SUI) 72 73, Thalia Martin (ENG) 72 73, Jane Turner (SCO) 72 73, Katherine Hollern (USA) 76 69, Jess Baker (BRI) 75 70
146 - Hannah Karg (GER) 72 74, Tiia Koivisto (FIN) 72 74
147 - Lucie Malchirand (FRA) 72 75, Jessica Bailey (ENG) 78 69
148 - Kajal Mistry 75 73, Rhea Purvi (IND) 76 72
149 - Chante van Zyl 75 74, Marta Sanz Barrio (ESP) 72 77, Ananya Garg (IND) 74 75
150 - Nayanika Sanga (IND) 77 73
151 - Paris Hilinski (USA) 77 74, Linn Wiberg (SWE) 79 72
152 - Karishma Govind (IND) 77 75, Shawnelle de Lange 78 74, Hannah Arnold (USA) 76 76
153 - Claire Minter (ZIM) 79 74
154 - Judith van der Voort (NED) 74 80
155 - Brittney-Fay Berger 79 76
156 - Leontine Petit (FRA) 77 79, Kim de Klerk 75 81
160 - Carey Dodds 78 82
161 - Molly Lumley (ENG) 78 83
168 - Amy Fletcher 88 80