The gusting wind that visited Glendower Golf Club on Wednesday was always going to be an added challenge for both the amateurs and professionals in the fourth tournament of the Standard Bank Pro-Am Series event that was held there and it would take a spirited performance to emerge with a victory.
Cape Town’s Tara Griebenow had been going quietly about her business in the series up to this point; coming to the former home of the South African Open ranked ninth on the Order of Merit – a clear sign she had champion quality in her arsenal of skills.
On Wednesday, she had to dig deep to navigate her way around one of the toughest courses in the country against unforgiving winds to shoot a one-under-par 71 round to win by four shots.
“The course was playing a little bit different in the wind,” she admitted, “I’m used to playing this course in the summer when the rough is thick and you don’t get much run. It was a completely different golf course out here and I’m really happy for this win.
“My game has been really good throughout the series and I think it’s been really good for us to come out and play. Some of us have to fly up here but it’s worth it because in Cape Town we don’t have many opportunities to play. It’s been nice to have something to work towards and see where my game is after the event; then go work on something knowing that you have another event coming up.”
Griebenow came into this event at the back of a fourth-place finish at Parkview Golf Club last month and while Nadia van der Westhuizen’s gallant effort – a three-over-par 75 – was a strong round, Griebenow’s 71 proved an insurmountable challenge.
One shot behind Van Dr Westhuizen, Tandi McCallum’s great form on this series continued as she finished in a share of third with Brittney-Fay Berger at four-over-par 76. Yolanda Duma was also impressive in Ekurhuleni, carding a 78 to tie fifth with Lennanda van der Watt for her first top-five finish on this series.
Bertine Faber, Kim Williams and Lindi Coetzee tied seventh after they all shot 79s. Previous event winner, Zethu Myeki took solo 10th after signing for a nine-over 81.
The Standard Bank Pro-Am Series was launched early last year and aims to drive the development of female players at the grassroots level and empower talented professional female golfers by creating opportunities for more playing time, which will enable them to hone their skills further. And as part of the National Women’s Month celebrations, title-sponsors, Standard Bank doubled the prize money for this event from R150,000 to R300,000, and the same will be true for the next event which will be held at Houghton Golf Club on August 25.
