Ebotse’s Garcia claims Top 25 at English Amateur

Nicole Garcia may barely have made the cut at Mannings Heath Golf Club, but, following this reprieve, the Ebotse golfer knuckled down to claim a top 25 finish in her English Women’s Amateur Stroke Play debut, in Sussex, England.

Disappointed after an opening score of 81, Garcia improved by six shots, with a second round 75, to make the cut to 36 and ties on the number on 12-over-par 156.

A third round 76 still left her hovering around the lower echelons of the leader board, but the 22-year-old Ekurhuleni golfer put everything she has learned into producing a final round 73, that lifted her to joint 21st on 17-over-par 305.

Garcia had entered two prestigious international amateur championships in August, to gain much needed experience ahead of the Ladies European Tour Qualifying School, later this year.

Before the English Women’s Amateur Stroke Play, Garcia spent several days at St Andrew’s in Scotland, to soak up as much experience as possible by watching the professionals navigate the famous Old Course.

Although she learned a lot from watching the pros, Garcia said that putting what she had learned into practice proved a challenge.

“I was pretty disappointed with my start, but was very relieved when I survived the cut,” she said.

“There were a lot of things to adjust to, though, and, not knowing the course, I wasted a lot of good tee shots with the wrong choices into the greens.

“If you hit it into the wrong side of the green at Mannings Heath, you are guaranteed to bogey.”

Although Garcia did have a double bogey at the par-three fifth and a bogey at the sixth, she managed to shave two shots off her deficit with birdies at the second and the 17th.

She was, however, pleased with the fact that she played the rest of the course to par.

“I definitely learned a lot in the first couple of rounds and I felt much more confident in the final round about my choices,” she said.

“It definitely reflected in my final round score.”

With three victories in May and July, the country’s number six ranked amateur took a good run of form to the United Kingdom.

It was, however, her experience of being knocked out in the semi-finals of the Sanlam SA Women’s Amateur Match Play, at Milnerton Golf Club, in July, that really inspired the trip.

“I had been playing really well until the semi-finals, but the moment the wind really started to blow, my game came apart,” Garcia said.

“I was able to come to the United Kingdom, thanks to financial assistance from Women’s Golf South Africa.”

Garcia will be putting all that she has learned into practice over more courses, over the next two weeks, to prepare for the Ladies British Open Amateur Stroke Play, at Prestwick, later this month.”