South Africa’s top-ranked amateur Kesha Louw engineered a wonderful come-from-behind victory in the South Africa Women’s Strokeplay which culminated in a playoff victory over Lisa Coetzer at Port Elizabeth Golf Club on Tuesday.
Coetzer held a three-shot lead over Louw through two rounds after opening with a superb six-under 66 before backing it up with a two-under 70. Louw meanwhile carded a four-under 68 in round one before signing for a 71.
Coetzer came unglued on the inward-nine in the final round amid windy and rainy conditions, thus opening the door for Louw. Having turned in three-under 33, Coetzer made double-bogeys at the 10th and 12th and bogeys at 11 and 15. Were it not for a birdie at her final hole, she’d have missed out on a playoff berth altogether.
Louw had a far steadier time of it: A one-over front-nine preceded a bogey-free second-nine highlighted by birdies at the 16th and 18th which kept her title hopes alive.
In the playoff, both players missed the green and had to lean on their short-games to keep the contest alive. Coetzer’s chip left her a 10-footer for par which she was unable to convert while Louw held her nerve to complete her comeback.
The top-32 players from the strokeplay will now contest the SA Women’s Amateur title.
Keep an eye on our website, www.freedropgm.com, for updates.
Photo: GolfRSA