Pace, Woods head strong field at San Lameer
Hopefully the weather will be significantly improved this year.
SOUTH Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace and American Cheyenne Woods will lead a strong field that will tee it up in the €320 000 Cell C South African Women’s Open at San Lameer Country Club in October.
Pace will be out to add the Cell C South African Women’s Open to her growing list of achievements, the most recent of which was being voted by Compleat Golfer magazine as the 2013 Golfer of the Year.
This marked the first time in South African golf history that the award has been given to a women golfer, and recognised Pace’s three victories on the Ladies European Tour in 2013 as well as her second-place finish on the tour’s ISPS HANDA Order of Merit and being voted the LET Players’ Player of the Year.
Pace was also named the Women’s Professional Golf Association (WPGA) of South Africa’s Player of the Year.
Defending champion Marianne Skarpnord of Norway has also confirmed her place in the field for South Africa’s premier women’s professional tournament, which is co-sanctioned by the WPGA of South Africa and the Ladies European Tour (LET).
The 72-hole tournament, from October 16 to 19, moves to San Lameer from Southbroom and has a new title sponsor in Cell C.
Lesley Copeman of promoters World Sports Promotions said this sponsorship support combined with the strong field is an endorsement of the growing success of this tournament.
The tournament has once again secured the support of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Tourism and the Hibiscus Coast Municipality.
The Hibiscus Coast Municipality Mayor, Councillor Nomusa Mqwebu, added that the municipality will again benefit from the hosting of this international event.
“As the Hibiscus Coast Municipality we are delighted that the Cell C South African Women’s Open is returning to our shores in a few months. The tournament has brought not only positive reviews from the players and organisers, but has helped put our municipality firmly on the international stage. We are confident that this year’s tournament will bring with it even more opportunities and excitement on and off the field of play,” she said.
“It’s an honour for us to host such a historic tournament and be part of the resurgence of women’s professional golf in South Africa. This is such an exciting time for the women’s game, and we consider it a major coup to be the home of the flagship event of the South African women’s game,” said Pine Pienaar, managing director of San Lameer estate.
