Ivanna Samu carded a three-under-par 67 round to win the inaugural event of the seven-tournament Standard Bank Pro-Am Series which was held at Killarney Country Club on Wednesday.
Put together by Lifestyle Golf in collaboration with the Women’s Professional Golf Association, the series was initially launched early in 2020 before the world went into a lockdown as a result of the Covid-19 virus.
“This series is amazing and we could not have asked for anything better,” said Samu, giving a nod to Lifestyle Golf and the partners who made the series a reality.
“It’s just amazing that people are finally seeing that ladies’ golf is great and South African ladies’ golf is just as great as what anybody is used to. To have Standard Bank putting money and believing in us, makes us believe in ourselves.”
A total of 26 professional golfers – including internationally celebrated stars such as Nobuhle Dlamini, Cassandra Hall, Lejan Lewthwaite and Nicole Garcia amongst others – were paired up with amateurs to make up a field of 92 players in the one-round tournament. Young players such as Zethu Myeki and Samu herself formed part of the field with more youngsters expected to be seen in the events following this one.
“It’s absolutely amazing; a breakthrough for women’s golf in South Africa,” added Jenny Havenga of Lifestyle Golf who are the promoters of the series. “We are honoured to have a giant like Standard Bank come on board; from everything small, comes something big and the proof is here today. Bringing a big sponsor like this is something we have not seen a lot in women’s golf. To see absolute commitment, the dedication and involvement; and to see the amount of work they put into this, is amazing.”
Each of the seven tournaments will come with a purse of R150,000 and will be staged at various venues including Serengeti Estates, Houghton Golf Club, Silverlakes, Eagle Canyon, Parkview and former home of the South African Open Championship, Glendower Golf Club in Ekurhuleni.
Speaking on her victory in the first event of the series at Killarney, Samu added: “Leading up to this event, I’ve had a couple of tournaments under my belt; I play Bushveld and IGT just to get back to competitive golf. My iron game was very solid and I’m just pleased that the putts went in.”
The Series aims to drive the development of female players at grassroots level and empower talented professional female golfers by creating opportunities for more playing time, which will enable them to hone their skills further, a vision shared by the WPGA.
