South Africa’s Danielle du Toit made a strong start in her push for back-to-back victories on the Sunshine Ladies Tour when she came through Wednesday’s opening round of the Jabra Ladies Classic just two shots off the lead at Killarney Country Club.

Du Toit, who won last week’s Standard Bank Open hosted by The City of Cape Town, opened with a round of three-under-par 69, with former Czech national team footballer turned professional golfer, Kristyna Napoleaova, leading the way after a five-under-par 67.

Eswatini’s Nobuhle Dlamini is also well-placed on three under in a tournament where she’s twice finished runner-up in the past, and on the back of finishing fourth last week.

“I’m playing well and enjoying my game. I’m solid off the tee and my putting has improved a lot. Killarney is a tricky course. It’s short and tight, and tricky around the greens. But my gameplan off the tee was very good. I didn’t capitalise on the par fives, which I’m a bit disappointed about. But I put myself in a position to win last week, and I’m starting to feel like that’s a possibility now,” said Dlamini.

But it was Napoleaova (left) – who left football after an injury and turned to golf instead – who took the greatest advantage on Wednesday, despite not feeling on top of her game at the start of the round.

“In the warm-up it didn’t go my way. I was extremely frustrated. I was in a conversation with my mental coach the night before though and she gave me advice on how to handle that. Today I was taking it one shot at a time and just trying to focus on those things. It ended up being a good and enjoyable round of golf which I am super proud of,” said Napoleaova, a winner on the Ladies European Tour in 2023.

Napoleaova has had three top-10 finishes on the Sunshine Ladies Tour to date but is still searching for a maiden win here.

“I love playing on the Sunshine Ladies Tour. I love the people, the environment, the country, the culture and especially the food. This is also where I started my professional career in 2020,” she said.