Patricia Schmidt had herself a morning on Thursday at the Investec SA Women’s Open as she carded a career-best 63 (-10) to lead by two shots in Cape Town.
The German went out in 33 (-3) shots at Royal Cape Golf Club before coming alive on the back-nine kickstarted by rolling in a lengthy eagle at the par-5 13th. Four birdies in the next five holes followed before Schmidt rolled in another long birdie at the par-4 18th.
Schmidt’s scorching scorecard is her lowest ever on the Ladies European Tour (LET) and betters her career-best by one shot (the German previously carded a 63, nine-under par on two occasions).
“Honestly, I didn’t even know I’d shot 10-under until I got a high five on the last hole!” the 30-year-old said. “I wouldn’t say it was the greatest round off the tee box, but my whole approach game and my recovery game was just really good.
“It was just one of those days where you stand behind a putt and read it and just clearly see the line. It’s the type of feeling you look for but which is really hard to find. Today it was just there for my putting.”
Schmidt has one victory to her name which came at the 2023 Belgian Ladies Open. Last week in Joburg she went out in 31 (-5) on the final day before eventually finishing T19. The result was her best of the season so far.
“What has helped me this year is my consistency,” Schmidt said. “Even though I’ve not hit every fairway, the misses I have are way smaller. So if I need to make a recovery I’ve managed to save par, which I’ve done way better now compared to last year.”
Two back from her sit two more LET winners, Smilla Tarning Soenderby from Denmark and Pia Babnik from Slovenia. The Former returned to her best on Thursday carding seven birdies and one eagle to set the early clubhouse target.
“Today I was pretty close to my best,” Soenderby said, winner of the 2023 KPMG Women’s Irish Open. “There were a few ‘oops’ moments here and there, but I would say I was in a really good mental space. I’ve started meditating again, that usually helps my golf game. I’m getting there.
“The course is fairly short. It’s tight off the tee but the greens are very soft. It’s rolling well. I think if you get the putter going and hit the par-5s in two, you can go very low. There may be a 60 out there this week.”
Babnik meanwhile, T5 last week at the Joburg Ladies Open, continued her fine form going bogey-free at Royal Cape Golf Club. The scorecard included three birdies to finish her day thanks to some pinpoint iron play.
“I played really well today from the start,” the two-time Olympian said. “My driver was working ok and I managed to hit some shots really close. Overall, if I my driver wasn’t working the way it did today, I wouldn’t have gone so low.
“I’ve never been hitting it as well as I am now. I’m really happy that the hard work I’ve put in over the last few years is paying off. I really want to win again. I feel like I’m getting close to it but you always need a little bit of luck to win. I’m just happy I’m enjoying my golf again and am being confident out there. That’s the most important thing.”
Teeing up in the low-scoring morning wave were Italy’s Alessia Nobilio, Austria’s Emma Spitz and England’s Esme Hamilton who all carded rounds of 66 (-7).
The trio share fourth position with France’s Emma Grechi through 18 holes of action. Like Babnik, Grechi also went bogey-free on Thursday afternoon which comes following a missed cut last week in Johannesburg.
England’s Cara Gainer plus American pair Brianna Navarrosa and Anna Morgan round out the top-10 in a tie for eighth on six-under par. Navarrosa was the 36-hole co-leader last week at the Joburg Ladies Open and finished her opening day in Cape Town with a fine birdie.
Elsewhere, home favourite and World No 40 Casandra Alexander opened with a round of 70 (-3) as she chases a first win of the season. The South Africa finished runner-up in Joburg last week.
The second round of the Investec SA Women’s Open gets underway tomorrow at 7:20 local time. Watch live and keep up to date with all the action on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook | #InvestecSAWomensOpen.
