Benoni lady golfers reflect on Cape Town Open

Benonian golfers Nicole Garcia and Lejan Lewthwaite have mixed feelings about their progress in the Sunshine Ladies Tour.

According to Lewthwaite, the recently completed Cape Town Ladies Open was a great opener to the tour.

“It was a very well run event with a great venue. I absolutely love Royal Cape Golf Club and the golf history that belongs to it – the oldest golf course in South Africa,” she said.

“It was just a pity that spectators were not allowed, but I know the tour is following strict Covid protocols.”

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Garcia enjoyed the Open but was also sad about the lack of spectators.

“The event was still run professionally and the course was in great condition,” she said.

Lewthwaite shared that she was happy with her performance, while Garcia expressed disappointment in the way she played during the Open.

“I did not perform how I wanted at all,” said Garcia.

“My first round was really disappointing. Considering I’ve had an extended break from competitive golf for almost two years, I was happy I followed that round up with two good scores to boost my confidence a bit.”

Lewthwaite felt she could take away a lot of positives from her performance.

“I think a lot of the struggles on the course stems from not having too much competition time in the past couple of months. Getting back into tournament mode is vital, which will improve our overall play as the season progresses,” she said.

“I felt a little disappointed with my finish, like I was playing really good golf but made quite a few mistakes I don’t usually make. I still feel my ball striking was great.”

Lewthwaite is happy with her standing in the tour.

“The season is still young, so it is important to pace myself and try build up some momentum leading up to the Investec South African Women’s Open,” she said.

“Until then, I will be focusing on building confidence, regaining that competitive edge and just enjoying being back on the fairways with something to play for.”

Garcia believed she could have placed better and was not happy with her overall standing.

“I would have definitely been happier if I placed better,” she said.

“I’m not overly proud of the position I’m in, but I can only try and improve my game and my position in the weeks to come.”

Both golfers shared their favourite and most disappointing moments of this Open.

Garcia said her first round was an overall disappointment.

“I had bad shots off the tee box all day and, in my opinion, I should be good enough to be able to control the ball even on a bad day as to not let the score run away from me,” she said.

“I learnt a lot from my mistake and hopefully I’ll do better in the future. The course is not easy, so if you can’t strike it right from the tee then you’ll be chipping out all day.

“My favourite moment was watching Caitlyn Macnab shoot -5 to take the lead on the second day. We both attend the same academy and have the same coach, so it was really nice to see her playing well as an amateur in a pro event.”

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Lewthwaite said her favourite moment was her chip-in for birdie on the third hole of the final round.

Both ladies were excited for the challenges this month, The Jabra Classic (April 14-16), the SuperSport Ladies Open (April 21-23) and the Johannesburg Ladies Open (April 28-30).

The final two challenges of the tour will take place in May.

“Apart from playing again, it was great to see our beautiful mother city, Cape Town,” said Lewthwaite.

“There is not a whole lot I will do differently, I just need to stick to my processes on the golf course, keep doing my prep and take each shot as they come.”

Garcia is enjoying being able to play competitive golf again and being around the players in an environment she loves.

“It’s all just very special being back at it again. As always I have to thank Investec for their continued support of not only myself but for women’s golf in general, Srixon for making sure I always have the best equipment and I can’t forget the SLT and Pauli and Sonia for all their hard work at these events.

“I am looking forward to trying to better my scores and work my way up the order of merit.

“Hopefully, I’ll be able to manage my game better under pressure and keep my bad rounds around level par so I still have a chance at competing throughout the event,” concluded Garcia.

The City Times will catch up with these two locals again to see how they are doing after the next three stages of the tour.