Nadia van der Westhuizen used all of her experience on another challenging day at the Gary Player Country Club to claim a one-shot lead in the SuperSport Ladies Challenge presented by Sun International.
Van der Westhuizen, a winner on the Sunshine Ladies Tour and also a winner in the women’s competition of the Vodacom Origins of Golf on the Sunshine Tour, signed for the lowest round of the tournament thus far with a four-under-par 68 to lead on five under par overall.
“It was a wonderful day,” she said. “It started off a bit shaky with the 1st hole but I had a good up-and-down for par there, and then just kept it steady from there. Then I just tried to keep it together on the back nine. I’m very happy with the round.”
Her nearest challenger is Danielle de Toit on four under after her round of 70, while 2023 champion and last week’s Jabra Ladies Classic winner, Casandra Alexander, is currently third on two under after a second round of 69.
After turning in two under par for her round, Van Der Westhuizen made a further three birdies on the back nine and just one bogey.
“The first birdie on the back nine [on the 10th] was good, but I think I got a little bit ahead of myself and was too excited and made a drop on the 11th,” she said. “My caddie told me to keep calm, just slow it down a bit, and stick to the process.”
But she admits she had to draw on all of her experience to navigate a tough Gary Player Country Club course, with only eight players in the field able to shoot under par on day two.
“I must say the course is really playing tough. What I’ve learned in the past is that I don’t have to shoot lights out. Boring golf actually does it. For me it’s just about playing steady golf.”
The South African has her strategy worked out for Friday’s final day.
“I’ll definitely just stick to the same thing, do my processes well and just try and keep it in play.”
The second round also produced an ace, with South African Symone Henriques scoring a hole-in-one on the par-three 13th hole on her way to a total of seven over for the tournament.
