NATIONAL NEWS - Britain’s Kiran Matharu was in imperious form at Zwartkop Country Club as she marched to a maiden Sunshine Ladies Tour victory with a commanding performance in the R400 000 Ladies Tshwane Open on Friday.
The Englishwoman fired four birdies on the back nine to post a four-under-par 67 for a winning score of nine over 209, beating defending champion Monique Smit and fellow South African Ashleigh Buhai by an emphatic five strokes.
“This is what I’ve been working towards since the start of the Sunshine Ladies Tour and to finally lift the trophy is just a fantastic feeling,” said Matharu.
The 27-year-old took third in her debut at the SuperSport Ladies Challenge, shared second with Buhai at the SA Women’s Masters and closed out a top five finish in the SA Women’s Open last weekend.
The victory catapulted Matharu to the top of the Chase to the Investec Cup for Ladies standings, while Buhai leapfrogged SA Women’s Masters champion Carrie Park for second place.
“Well, now I am in with a shout to make the Investec Cup final and that is really great,” she said. “I came down to South Africa to get competitive experience before the season in Europe kicks off and I my goal was to put myself in contention every week so I could make the final. I think my chances are pretty good now, but I’m going to keep on pushing.”
Matharu opened with a 68 and edged three shots clear of Buhai with a 69 in round two. She made a stumbling start on the last day, but managed to offset a brace of bogeys to keep ahead of the field on the front nine.
“I didn’t play the first nine holes well in any of the rounds, so I knew I needed to stay patient and just protect my lead until we reached the turn,” said Matharu.
Once she hit the back nine, though, the putter caught fire.
She notched a pair of birdies 13 and 14 and picked up two more gains at 16 and 17. Heading down the final hole, Matharu held a four shot lead over Buhai, but the South African three-putted 18, handing the Englishwomen a five shot celebration.
“I am really excited to win again,” Matharu said. “The last couple of years was tough. I had injuries to overcome and I started showing some form last year. But it’s not until you put your hands on a trophy that you truly know that you can win again.
“I want to say a special word on thanks to the greenkeeper and the staff on behalf of all the players they did an amazing job to get the course ready after the flood on Monday. I really enjoyed myself here, especially on the back nine and I’m just so happy right now. Now I just want to keep going.”
Four-time Ladies European Tour winner Rebecca Hudson became the first international champion on the Sunshine Ladies Tour last season and Matharu’s victory takes the foreign champion’s tally to three, coming just two weeks after Park from South Korea triumphed at Rondebosch Golf Club.
Now Matharu hopes to put her hands on another trophy as the Sunshine Ladies Tour heads back to the Mother City for Cape Town Ladies Open next week.
“I’ve had a fitting and I’m getting my new clubs in Cape Town, so yes, I’m feeling very positive about the Cape Town Ladies Open,” she said.
Final Result
204 - Kiran Matharu (ENG) 68 69 67
209 - Monique Smit 70 72 67, Ashleigh Buhai 75 66 68
212 - Nicole Garcia 74 68 70
213 - Nobuhle Dlamini (SWZ) 74 70 69, Kim Williams 72 68 73
214 - Bonita Bredenhann (NAM) 74 70 70
215 - Lora Assad 74 71 70, Monja Richards 71 72 72, Lee-Anne Pace 71 72 72, Carrie Park (KOR) 70 72 73
216 - Alexandra Lennartsson (SWE) 73 73 70, Bertine Strauss 74 71 71, Lejan Lewthwaite 75 70 71
217 - Catherine Lau AMA 73 72 72
218 - Tandi von Ruben 72 76 70, Ivanna Samu 71 75 72
219 - Hannah Arnold (USA) 73 74 72
220 - Rebecca Hudson (ENG) 73 72 75
221 - Caitlyn Macnab AMA 75 76 70, Mae Cornforth 74 69 78
222 - Eleonora Galletti AMA 73 77 72, Casandra Hall AMA 80 72 70
223 - Mandy Adamson 76 74 73, Sofia Ljungqvist (SWE) 73 77 73, Maria Roos (SWE) 72 77 74, Michelle Leigh 75 70 78
224 - Hanna Roos (SWE) 71 78 75, Woo-Ju Son AMA 77 78 69
225 - Larissa Du Preez AMA 78 74 73
226 - Morgana Robbertze 77 75 74, Anne-Lise Caudal (FRA) 76 78 72, Lenanda van der Watt AMA 80 74 72, Lindi Coetzee AMA 82 75 69
227 - Louise Larsson (SWE) 78 72 77, Clara Pietri (SUI) 79 71 77, Chiara Contomathios AMA 75 73 79, Anna Sventrup (SWE) 80 73 74
228 - Kelsey Nicholas AMA 77 75 76, Crizelda van Niekerk 75 79 74, Nora Angehrn (SUI) 75 80 73
229 - Nicole Becker 76 73 80, Flavia Namakula (UGA) 76 78 75
230 - Laura Sedda (ITA) 78 78 74
231 - Yolanda Duma 79 75 77, Tijana Kraljevic 80 77 74
232 - Siviwe Duma 77 74 81
235 - Alana van Greuning 85 74 76
239 - Frankie Bosman AMA 79 82 78, Marguerite Pienaar 83 81 75
242 - Lynette Fourie AMA 75 84 83
244 - Leslie Grandet (MAD) 85 81 78
248 - Julie Bruyns-Leach 79 81 88
259 - Adele Beytell AMA 85 83 91
ARTICLE: LALI STANDER
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