On a day when the clouds came billowing over the Helderberg mountain range and gusts of wind ripped across the fairways of the Erinvale Country and Golf Estate, Belgium’s Manon De Roey held her nerve and produced a magnificent five-under-par 67 to lead the Investec South African Women’s Open heading into the weekend. MICHAEL VLISMAS reports.
De Roey came through a challenging day at the top of the leaderboard on eight under par overall, one stroke clear of England’s Rosie Davies who signed for a 71.
Stacy Bregman is the leading South African on one under par in this Sunshine Ladies Tour and Ladies European Tour co-sanctioned tournament.
De Roey certainly showed no signs of being at all intimidated by the windy conditions as she birdied three of her first four holes.
“In that start I was trying to putt without the gusts. You could hear them coming so I tried to time it between the gusts. Some of those birdies were long putts and unexpected but I’ll take them,” said De Roey, who has had a strong season thus far with four top-10s in her last eight tournaments. She came into this week with a fifth-place finish in the Joburg Ladies Open.
But it was a tournament in Saudi Arabia earlier this year which she says may have given her the edge at Erinvale on Friday.
“It was really tough out there, but I had something similar at the beginning of the year in a tournament in Saudi Arabia, which was also very windy. So maybe that helped me for this week. I just tried to stay patient and pick my lines off the tee well, and have the wind as my friend.
“When it’s windy like this I feel like I’m always more focused. You just have to stay patient because I know it’s possible to shoot low scores in wind like this. Maybe I need the wind on the weekend.”
Just one shot behind her, England’s Davies was equally delighted to have come through a tough day with a shot at one of the most historic titles in South African women’s golf.
“Starting my round on the back nine with the wind at its peak was tough,” she said. “I just kept my head down and focusing on the next shot. I dropped shots on the back nine but I’d told myself I was probably going to face some adversity today and how I respond to that is what I need to focus on.”
And Davies certainly responded well after those dropped shots as she closed out her round with three straight birdies.
“It was an exhausting day and that finish has given me a bit of energy. I’m excited for the weekend now. We’ll probably get more wind so anything can happen out there. I’ll just keep my head down and see where we end up on Sunday.”
Photo: Heinrich Helmbold/Sunshine Tour
