Tandi von Ruben well prepared for golf in Zambia

Former South African Women’s Open golf champion Tandi von Ruben of Randpark, left for Zambia this week to participate in a three-day Zambia Ladies Golf Tournament at Lusaka Golf Club.

“I am looking forward to more points in Zambia. Golf is a wonderful game to play and requires more skill and hard work,”said von Ruben. She is currently ranked 4th in South Africa, 50th on the current Ladies European Tour Order of Merit 2012 and 284th on the Rolex World Rankings (4th highest ranked South African.) Von Ruben (27) grew up on a farm and was only introduced to golf at the age of 15 by her father. She excelled in many sports as a youngster from tennis to softball to hockey and archery.

“When my father passed away, I started to take golf more seriously and ended up with the same passion for the game that my father had,” she explained. Von Ruben played full time as an amateur for five years, winning nine events and competing in four international tournaments and also receiving Junior and Full National Colours.

Her professional career has been steadily climbing and Tandi is set to become one of South Africa’s leading lady golfers. “My ultimate goal is to compete at the highest level of golf and help develop the profile of women’s golf both around the world and locally. I have big dreams which I plan to achieve in the game of golf and they include winning major events and aspiring for the World no.1 spot,” she elaborated.

Von Ruben quickly made a name for herself progressing up the amateur ranks before she turned professional in 2009. She is one of the top golfers in South Africa and was SA Woman’s Open Champion in 2009. She is ranked 50th on the Ladies European Tour for the 2012 season had a very successful season which started off with finishing 2nd in the Lalla Meryem Morocco Cup in March 2012. “Golf is a wonderful game to play, challenging and it requires skill, talent and hard work,” she concluded.