Playing out of a course just up Cape Town’s west coast should make playing this week’s Cape Town Ladies Open on the Sunshine Ladies Tour something of a breeze for Cara Gorlei when it gets underway on Wednesday.
Gorlei, who currently lies seventh on the Sunshine Ladies Tour Order of Merit after a share of fourth in the SuperSport Ladies Challenge and a share of 14th in the Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am, has nearly a lifetime of experience of playing at Milnerton Golf Club – and if any course will prepare a player for what might happen at Atlantic Beach Links, it’s Milnerton.
But there’s a catch: “I spent four years playing for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, so I’m afraid I’ve become something of a fair weather golfer,” said Gorlei. “And even back home, I consciously try and go out early to avoid the worst of the wind.
“But when I heard that the Cape Town Ladies Open was going to be played at Atlantic Beach, I made an effort to go and play some rounds there, to refamiliarise myself with conditions there. And I’ve got a very good local guy on the bag, and I think we make a good team.”
The 26-year-old Gorlei has also had two runner-up finishes in the Cape Town Open during the last two seasons, finishing in a share of second to Nadia van der Westhuizen at Royal Cape last year, and losing in a play-off in 2021 to Manon Gidali of France at the same tournament. The tournament was played at King David Mowbray Golf Club in 2020, and Gorlei finished 18th there behind Lee-Anne Pace.
“The wind is not a problem for someone who has played as often as I have at Milnerton,” said Gorlei of the Cape Town Ladies Open which is forecast to have winds of up to more than 40 kilometres an hour each day. “I learned so much of my golf in wind, so I’m ready for it.”
She also plays a lot of her golf these days at Arabella Country Estate, and there is almost always some win in play there. That, too, will give her a sense of familiarity at Atlantic Beach. “I spent a lot of time playing there in December,” she said, “and I’d try and play in the evenings to get the calmer conditions. Also, a lot of the holes are played between the trees, and that gives a degree of shelter from the wind.”
What might be more of a problem is the fact that the greens at Atlantic Beach are softer and slower than the players have experience at Sun City and at Fancourt in the two tournaments of the season so far. “While the fairways might be dry and hard, and run for miles,” said Gorlei, “I found that the greens were a lot slower than I anticipated when I practiced there. That will take a bit of adjustment.”
Gorlei will be hoping that her share of 14th at Fancourt last week was a harbinger of good tournaments to come, and that she can shake off the bridesmaid’s tag she might have developed in the Cape Town Ladies Open with two consecutive seconds. “One thing I know is that we won’t be able to avoid the wind,” she said, “so I’m glad I was a good wind player when I was younger.”
