Lejan Lewthwaite drew on all her experience as he claimed her fourth playoff win on Thursday at the SuperSport Ladies Challenge presented by Sun International.
Lewthwaite won her maiden Sunshine Ladies Tour title last year at San Lameer in the SA Women’s Masters. That followed two victories on the men’s IGT Challenge Tour in sudden death against the male professionals in 2018.
‘I absolutely drew on my experiences,’ said Lewthwaite, who birdied the first extra hole to lift her second Sunshine Ladies Tour trophy at the Gary Player Country Club. ‘I don’t know what it is about playoffs, but it just fuels me to perform and stick to my guns. I’m over the moon to have four out of four playoff wins.’
The pair tied for the lead on six-under at the end of regulation play after Lewthwaite carded rounds of 66, 71 and 73 and McCallum shot 67, 71 and 72 at the challenging par-72 layout.
In the ensuing play-off, Lewthwaite was rock solid.
‘The nines were switched around at the Gary Player, so we actually played the par five ninth in the play-off. Tandi drove it down the middle, and I hit my drive down the right. My ball was actually sitting down quite badly, but it was always going to be a lay-up,’ said the Serengeti golfer, who celebrates her 29th birthday next week.
‘I just wedged it out the rough, and she hit her second into the right rough. I went first with the approach and hit a really solid wedge to about 10-foot. Tandi’s third came up short in the water. I holed my birdie putt to her bogey to take the win.’
Meanwhile former SA number 1 ranked amateur Woo-Ju Son made an impressive start to her professional career on the Sunshine Ladies Tour. The pint-sized South Korean rookie registered rounds of 72, 72 and 69 to tie last year’s Investec Order of Merit winner Nobuhle Dlamini for third on three-under.
Lee-Anne Pace, fresh off her 25th career win in the Cape Town Ladies Open, birdied the 17th and made an albatross at the final hole for a 69 to finish alone in fifth on two-under.
Photo: Carl Fourie/Sunshine Ladies Tour/Gallo Images
