Ladies European Tour stars visited the beautiful Boulders Beach, one of Cape Town’s most visited beaches and the only place in the world where you get close to African Penguins, in the build up to the 2019 Investec South African Women’s Open.
Karolin Lampert, Olivia Cowan, Carly Booth and Julia Engstrom headed to Boulders Beach in False Bay to see the colony of African Penguins in all their waddling glory and stunning surroundings. The surrounding beaches form part of the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area, that ensures the beaches are safe and clean, and the penguins are protected. Cape Town has no shortage of amazing beaches, but Boulders Beach is incredibly special, and the players made the most of the unique experience.
It was the perfect trip to take in one of South Africa’s tourist hotspots, before the co-sanctioned tournament between the Ladies European Tour and the Sunshine Ladies Tour gets underway at Westlake Golf Club on Thursday.
Karolin Lampert, who finished second at last season’s Investec South African Women’s Open loved the trip and is looking forward to another great week in South Africa.
“Today has been great. I have loved seeing the penguins and visiting Boulders Beach. It was on my to do list and it has been good to experience it with the Tour. I have never seen anything like this, there are so many penguins. It has been really cool, to see it. I am going to try and get into Cape Town to see more of what South Africa has to offer but I probably won’t go up Table Mountain as I am afraid of heights!
“My game has been improving the last few weeks in Australia, so I am happy with where it is now. I wasn’t too happy with my final round though. I was two off the lead going into it and didn’t get anything going. The first three days were good so I aiming to build on that. I like the setup of this course and have positive memories from last year, so I am targeting a strong week.”
Julia Engstrom, the 2018 Ladies European Tour Rookie of the Year, is excited to be in South Africa for the first time and is looking forward to making her tournament debut in the Investec South African Women’s Open.
“I really like South Africa so far. I only arrived on Monday morning, played 18 holes at Westlake and then practiced today. It’s a nice course and a bit different from what we have been playing in Australia, but I am looking forward to the new challenge this week.
“The penguins were incredible, it was a great experience and I was so happy to get the opportunity to do it and see so many of them.”
Two-time Ladies European Tour winner, Carly Booth, is on a hot run of form after a fourth-place finish at the ActewAGL Canberra Classic and securing T12 position last week at the Women’s NSW Open.
“To get the chance to experience the penguins was amazing. They are so cute and you kind of wish they are a little cuddlier! Boulders Beach highlights what an amazing country South Africa is.
“My form is really good. I have great rhythm and a good feeling at the minute. My putting has improved a lot over the last month and I have been working on a couple of changes to my swing. It started off with a practice drill, but I have now implemented it into the swing as it helps with my timing. I had the clubhead shut a lot of the time at the top my swing and previously I was getting too quick from the top into my downswing. Now I just imagine having a bit of a pause at the top of my swing (but I don’t actually stop) and it has made a big difference. I would love to get a win and then go home and enjoy the next couple of weeks.”
Olivia Cowan, who finished seventh on the 2018 LET Order of Merit, was a big fan of the trip to Boulders Bay.
“I thought it was really impressive and have never seen anything like that. At first when we arrived, we could only see a few penguins and I thought that was it. Then we did the boardwalk and got to the bottom area of the beach and it was crazy. There were millions of them, and it was incredible. You have to see it.
“I only landed on Monday evening so I haven’t that seen much of South Africa yet. I played 9 holes on Tuesday and then went on the visit to Boulders Beach. Whilst I’m here I am hoping to see a little more of what South Africa has to offer and we are planning to go to the waterfront at Cape Town and have dinner there. Getting to experience things like today is what I love about life on tour.”
The 2019 Investec South African Women’s Open staged at Westlake Golf Club gets underway tomorrow at 07:20 local time. Entry is free to all three rounds and there is ample public parking.
