Two golfers from the Lowveld recently formed part of the Mpumalanga ladies team that took part in the SA Women’s IPT.

The SA Women’s Interprovincial Tournament (IPT) was played at Ruimsig Country Club in Johannesburg from May 20 to 23.

Lucia Mhlabane, a member of Malelane Golf Club, and Alieke van Zyl, a member of Mbombela Golf Club, were the duo that formed part of Mpumalanga’s ladies team. Mhlabane was also part of the Mpumalanga team that won the B section last year and subsequently earned promotion to the A section for this year’s SA Women’s IPT.

This meant Mpumalanga would be taking on some fierce competition and things would be a lot harder than in 2024. Alieke, who is in Grade 11 at Hoërskool Nelspruit, made her debut as a member of the team this year, but she made sure to put up a good fight against some of the country’s best amateur female golfers.

Alieke tied her first singles match of the week against Western Province, earning a valuable half-point for the team to start the week. She battled hard in her subsequent singles and foursomes matches throughout the week, ultimately winning her final singles match on the fourth and final day to claim an important point for the team.

Mhlabane herself fought hard throughout the week, and being paired with Witbank Golf Club member, Hanné Rademeyer, tied their first foursomes match on day one against Western Province, as well as their second match which came against Southern Cape. Mhlabane won her singles match on day three against KwaZulu-Natal to round off her week on a positive note.

Mhlabane and Alieke even paired up for the foursomes match on day four against North West, narrowly losing out, two holes down with one hole to play.