England’s Alice Hewson returns to the Investec SA Women’s Open this week, where she claimed her first LET victory in 2020.
That win took place at Westlake Golf Club, located 50km west of Erinvale. It was a historic moment for Hewson, as she became the first English female golfer to win on her LET debut.
Now, the tournament returns to Erinvale Country and Golf Estate, which hosted the event for the first time in 2024.
“I think they’re quite different courses”, said the two-time LET winner. “Westlake was really flat compared to this one, but it can still get really windy here because of the mountains which is similar. I feel like this course can suit my game.”
Hewson travelled from Johannesburg on Monday, following the Joburg Ladies Open – having secured T21 at Modderfontein Golf Club.
She is staying in a full house this week with six others including Marianne Skarpnord, Chloe Williams, and Sofie Bringner. “We’re staying in a lovely area this year. Somerset West is a fantastic place and I’m staying with a good group of girls, so we should have some fun this week”, she said.
This year marks her sixth season on the LET and she is enjoying being back in Cape Town. “I think we might have a trip to see the penguins at some point this week. Obviously it’s been a bit weather dependent, but we’ll try to give it a go because I haven’t been down there since 2020, so it’d be nice to go again.”
During the offseason, the 27-year-old got married. “We had the absolute best time. We got so lucky with the weather but changed very swiftly, as we got a lot of rain on our honeymoon in the Maldives. It was just so nice though and very different to a normal offseason.”
Hewson returned from Q School in the US, and it was pretty much straight into the wedding, straight into Christmas, the honeymoon, and getting ready for the season again. “It was a quick offseason, but I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat,” she continued.
She has set ambitious goals for the season: “I’ve got a lot of goals for this season. I obviously want to win again. I want to get myself in a position where I’m getting some Solheim Cup points. I’m not quite where I’ve wanted to be so far for the start of this season, but I’m seeing a lot of positives in my game, and I don’t think it will take a lot to piece the final few bits together and we’ll start seeing some low scores from it.”
The 27-year-old started working with her caddie Rory Henderson last season so it’s been just over a year now. “We have such a great time on the golf course. He’s been a massive addition to the team – so helpful and so level-headed. I don’t think people fully appreciate what caddies do and how many different hats he has to wear. He’s not just out there doing numbers and giving clubs. He’s my on-course psychologist, keeping me calm, laughing, and relaxed. If I’ve got anything going on in my swing, he knows exactly what I’m working on and to keep me on track with that. He has to do so many different things out there and he just does it with a big smile on his face. I love working with him. He’s great friends with my husband too, so he’s been a fantastic addition to the team and hopefully we’ll have another good year together.”
Last season saw Hewson secure her second LET title at the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open and will be aiming for a hat-trick of wins this week in South Africa.
She will be playing round one at 12:12pm (local time) tomorrow, alongside France’s Nastasia Nadaud and Spain’s Blanca Fernandez.
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