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| Nora Angehrn – also won in Africa |
“Before the last round I was not well at all, I had flu, like Tiger Woods last week. The last round was very tough, I had a head-to-head play-off with Anja Monke and it was similar to match play.
“After the one-hour-and-a half hour playoff, five long and emotional holes, I holed a 10 feet putt for the victory – at last! I’m really exhausted but I’m so happy, I hope this victory will be the first of a very long series!”
The award ceremony for The Princess Lalla Meryem Cup and Hassan II Golf Trophy was chaired by HRH Prince Moulay Rachid, the younger brother of HM King Mohammed VI. Scottish Sam Torrance lifted the 34th Hassan II Golf Trophy, beating French Raphaël Jacquelin in a playoff.
In the Pam Golding Ladies’ International, Angehrn, who held the overnight lead, dropped a shot on the par-four 4th to lose the outright lead and three-putted the 6th to fall behind Helena Alterby of Sweden but came back with birdies on 10, 14 and 16.
“I lost confidence with my putting,” explained Angehrn afterwards, “the lines were really good, but I just couldn’t sink them.”
The second event on the 2006 Nedbank Women’s Golf Tour gets under way this week. For the first time ever the Tour moves to KwaZulu-Natal for the 2006 Acer Women’s SA Open.
The event starts on Thursday 2 March with the final round being played on Saturday 4 March 2006, at the Durban Country Club.
With an improvement on last year’s entries, this year’s event has attracted 110 players, 42 of which currently play on the Ladies European Tour. The field includes defending champion Maria Boden (SWE) having recently celebrated her 28th birthday, and who had an inspiring final round last year of no less than seven birdies and an eagle to post a round of 67, nine under for the tournament.
History records show that this is the main event on the tour where the biggest margins of victory are posted. Last year Boden won this event 7 shots clear of her nearest rival Mandy Adamson (SA), and previously by Laurette Maritz (SA) in 1989 nine shots clear.
South Africa’s World Cup of Golf team players Laurette Maritz and Ashleigh Simon will no doubt make a strong challenge. Simon was the leading amateur in last week’s Pam Golding Ladies International event with a 5 under par for the final round. She will also be defending her Open amateur title at this week’s Acer Women’s SA Open.
