South Africa’s Casandra Alexander heads into the final day of the Joburg Ladies Open just three shots off the lead of England’s Mimi Rhodes, who is chasing back-to-back victories at Modderfontein Golf Club.
By the end of a second round played over two days because of the heavy rain and subsequent delays, Alexander signed for a 71 and a tournament total of nine under par.
Ireland’s Lauren Walsh also finished the day on nine under with a 69. Rhodes is at the top of the leaderboard on 12 under par following her second round of 69.
The bad weather has meant this Sunshine Ladies Tour and Ladies European Tour co-sanctioned event has been reduced to 54 holes.
Alexander had played three holes of her second round on Friday before the suspension of play, and was going along well with two birdies in that stretch. She returned on Saturday morning and, after a delayed start because of more rain, picked up birdies at holes 5 and 15. But it was a double-bogey on the 17th, where she hit into the hazard, that slowed her progress.
“I didn’t hit a great tee shot there and got lucky to have a shot at the pin. I caught it a little heavy and because it’s wet the ball just doesn’t carry, and there you go. The greens were really slow today. It was tough to get the pace right because it was changing all the time with the rain, and then they would speed up when it was dry. But we’re still in the running and will have an interesting final day,” said the South African, who is hunting her maiden title on the Ladies European Tour.
Rhodes is looking for back-to-back wins on the Ladies European Tour after a victory in Australia last week, and she took the lead with a strong run of four birdies in five holes over the turn on Saturday despite the wet weather.
“I just stuck to my routine and kept my focus,” she said. “I had a couple of good up-and-downs to start and my putts were going in and I kept the momentum from yesterday. I like target golf and it was a bit like that. You just have to stay patient. My caddie helped me a lot when I was frustrated at missing greens.
“But I was just having fun out there and trying to take advantage of the birdies when I could. I’m not going to think too far ahead. I’ll relax after a stressful day, keep my routine the same and then fingers crossed for the final day.”
Photo: Troy Winfield/Sunshine Ladies Tour
