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| English sensation Charley Hull – mentored by British legend Tony Jacklin |
The 2013 South African Women’s Open has drawn a strong international field of players from over 20 countries and featuring multiple tournament winners on the Ladies European Tour for this premier event at Southbroom Golf Club from 19-21 April.
The field will be led by two former LET Order of Merit champions in South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace and France’s Gwladys Nocera. It will also feature Scotland’s Carly Booth, twice a winner on the LET, and rising stars such as Cheyenne Woods, the niece of Tiger Woods, and 16-year-old English sensation Charley Hull, who is mentored by British legend Tony Jacklin and tied for second at the Lalla Meryem Cup.
Other winners on the LET that will be in South Africa include South Africa’s Ashleigh Simon, France’s Cassandra Kirkland and Anne-Lise Caudal, Australian Stacey Keating, Welsh professional Lydia Hall, Denmark’s Line Vedel, Slovakia’s Zuzana Kamasova and Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord.
And the South African Women’s Open will make history with the world’s first female Muslim professional, Maha Haddioui, teeing it up in this event under the Moroccan flag.
An increased purse of €290 000 will be on offer in South Africa’s oldest women’s professional tournament, which is co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour (LET) and the Women’s Professional Golf Association (WPGA). The tournament will also feature live international and local TV coverage as it continues its resurgence in partnership with the KwaZulu-Natal local government and the Hibiscus Coast Municipality. This is the second year in succession that the SA Women’s Open will be played in KwaZulu-Natal.
“We are delighted that the event will be returning this year. It is yet another endorsement of the golf infrastructure of our province to be able to provide quality golf courses and facilities for major international tournaments,” said MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Tourism.
“The fact that there is a greater international contingent returning this year, as well as new players from countries such as Slovakia, Peru, Colombia and Morocco, is a fantastic platform for us to once again showcase what our province has to offer the international golf tourist.”
This is also the second year that the Hibiscus Coast Municipality will host this prestigious tournament. “It is an honour for us to keep playing a role in not only a great sporting event, but an event that uplifts women in our community and keeps putting the spotlight on the amazing role women are playing in the growth and success of our country. We are also looking forward to the opportunity of once again showing the world what a beautiful part of KwaZulu-Natal this is,” said Her Worship the Mayor, Councillor Nomusa Mqwebu.
The development drive of this year’s tournament will be underpinned by a donation of R500 000 to the Hibiscus Coast Municipality Charity Fund, contributed equally between the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government and tournament promoters World Sports Promotions.
ABOUT THE SA WOMEN’S OPEN
The SA Women’s Open is the premier tournament on the South African women’s professional golf calendar, dating back to 1988. It is a 54-hole stroke play professional tournament co-sanctioned by the Women’s Professional Golf Association and the Ladies European Tour, with World Sports Promotions as the commercial rights owners. The 2013 tournament will be played over 54 holes at Southbroom Golf Club in KwaZulu-Natal, with the leading South African professionals competing against an international field for total prize money of €290,000.
