Month: May 2024

JOHANNESBURG – Casandra Alexander produced a magnificent bogey-free round of 61 to lead the Sunshine Tour’s Waterfall City Tournament of Champions powered by Attacq by two strokes at Royal Johannesburg’s East Course on Friday.

Competing as one of the champions on the Sunshine Ladies Tour this past season, Alexander surged to the top of the leaderboard on 13 under par, with Sunshine Tour professional Louis Albertse her nearest challenger on 11 under par following his second round of 68.

Sunshine Tour professionals Rupert Kaminski and Gerhard Pepler are currently tied third headed into the weekend on seven under par. Ivan Verster is the leading amateur on six under par.

The elite 34-player field brings together champions from the Sunshine Tour, Sunshine Ladies Tour and the amateur ranks of GolfRSA in what has been designed to showcase the strength of South African golf throughout its structures.

And there was no greater evidence of this than Alexander’s performance.

With the Sunshine Ladies Tour having just completed another successful season featuring eight tournaments – two of which we co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour – Alexander’s performance is another powerful statement of the strides made to advance women’s professional golf in South Africa.

The Sunshine Tour has helped to advance this through offering spots for leading Sunshine Ladies Tour professionals into its Vodacom Origins of Golf series of tournaments last season, where they competed for the same prize money as the Sunshine Tour professionals.

Alexander recently claimed her fifth title on the Sunshine Ladies Tour in the ABSA Ladies Invitational, and this 61 was a clear indication of a professional with big ambitions for this season.

“I’ve worked really hard on my consistency in all areas of my game, inside and outside the ropes,” said Alexander, who had to work through ankle surgery in December and a change in coach before the season started.

“My biggest goal this season is to finish in the top 10 on the Ladies European Tour so that I can get through to the Final Stage of the LPGA Tour Qualifying School at the end of the year.” – Michael Vlismas.

JOHANNESBURG – Louis Albertse rose to the fore in a field of champions as he opened with a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 to lead the Sunshine Tour’s new Waterfall City Tournament of Champions powered by Attacq by two strokes at Royal Johannesburg’s East Course on Thursday.

As one of the select professionals in a 34-player field that has brought together champions from the Sunshine Tour, Sunshine Ladies Tour and the elite amateur ranks of GolfRSA, Albertse got off to the perfect start in the chase to the R1-million first-place cheque come Sunday.

The winner of last season’s KitKat Cash & Carry Pro-Am opened with a birdie on the first and added a further four birdies and an eagle to carry him to the top of the leaderboard.

With this also being the first tournament of the Sunshine Tour’s new 2024-25 season, Albertse has clearly picked up from where he left off.

He finished last season with four top-10s on his way to his best-ever finish of third on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, which has also secured him a DP World Tour card for this season.

His nearest challengers are Zimbabwe’s Robson Chinhoi, Gerhard Pepler, amateur Ivan Verster and Scottish women’s professional Kylie Henry all on five under par.

Ryan van Velzen, the winner of last season’s Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, came through the opening round five shots off the lead.

Top GolfRSA amateur Altin van der Merwe, the winner of the inaugural Africa Amateur Championship at Leopard Creek in February and who recently also won the Sunshine Tour’s Qualifying School Final Stage, opened with a round of level par 72.

And Robin Williams, the Sunshine Tour’s Fortress Rookie of the Year for last season, started his week with a round of one-over-par 73. – Michael Vlismas.