GOLFRSA SQUAD WATCH
Reaping the
REWARDS
Lourenda Steyn’s immense talent and hard work are a winning combination
By Clinton van der Berg
When Lourenda Steyn was two years old, her father Wessel bought her a pink grip to chew on.
Unorthodox as it was, little were they to know that it would be the start of a golf journey that is now thriving. Steyn is in top form, with nine top-10 finishes at her past 10 events, including third at the SA Women’s Stroke Play, tie-third at the GolfRSA International Amateur and a win at the North West Open Championship.
Playing out of Centurion, Steyn is just 15 and in the form of her life.
She attributes this mainly to consistency in her swing. ‘No fixes are needed,’ she says from her home in Pretoria. ‘I don’t need to think to swing, I just do it. I’ve worked so hard at fixing the problems in my game.’
Steyn is a product of the acclaimed Junior Tuks Academy, which has become a conveyor belt for talent, with the likes of Wiehan van der Walt, Mikayla Venter, Kamoza Longwe and this year’s SA Open winner, Dylan Naidoo, all graduates.
She credits coach Kyle Phelan with much of her success, having first worked with him aged seven. He continues to be a mentor able to add polish and finesse to her repertoire.
‘I’ve worked so hard at fixing the problems in my game’
Steyn is open and forthright discussing her game, although she wasn’t always so. She says she was a quiet introvert in primary school, but golf has changed that dynamic entirely.
‘Meeting new people and playing with friends has changed me... golf has made me an extrovert,’ she quips. Blonde and bubbly, a one-on-one interview is a breeze for her and you sense her confidence aligns with her form.
Her Instagram page is a reflection of her world: trophy handovers, team shots, action shots. It’s all golf.
CHIP SHOTS
Who are your role models? Nelly Korda and Annika Sörenstam, who was No 1 for so long.
Your favourite courses? Gary Player Country Club and Royal Joburg.
Internationally, where would you like to play? I’ve never been overseas and really want to do so. The courses in Florida in the US are very appealing. Seeing some of my Protea friends in Japan – I’d like to play there too.
How do you relax? I keep things simple, preferring to hang out with my family, especially after golf, when I’m drained
Hobbies? I like to gym, sweating, lifting weights. It gets my mind off everything.
Any superstitions? I colour-code everything I wear, otherwise there’s a curse and I won’t play well.
‘I’m above the curve. I’ve hit my targets, so things are good’
‘I’m above the curve,’ she says of her progress. ‘I’ve hit my targets, so things are good.’
After her initial early foray into the sport, she dabbled in dancing before looping back to the game. Breaking 100 at the age of nine convinced her to take the sport more seriously, and after winning her club’s Presidents Trophy at Centurion, she was hooked, telling her dad Wessel she wanted to make a living from golf.
Her father, who plays and comes from a family of golfers, immediately backed her and encouraged a shift to online schooling to enable her to play more.
‘It’s still a hobby for me,’ she assures. ‘I still want to enjoy it.’
Last August, off the back of her North West win, she graduated to the Elite Division of the GolfRSA National Squad thanks to their nurturing and encouragement. Her ranking has never been better. In mid-March she was No 1 among Gauteng North’s under-19s, 10th in the GolfRSA U19 rankings and eighth in the women’s rankings.
She loves what GolfRSA has done for her, not least the camps –‘great fun’ – and the subsequent improvement in her game. It’s an ecosystem that keeps producing the goods for a broad group of youngsters.
Even at 15, Steyn is well aware of the need to strike a balance, so while her family is supportive, talk around the dinner table seldom focuses on golf. She likes that.
Despite her youth, her ambitions are clear and focused, beginning with a place on the Proteas squad and, assuming she continues to improve, a scholarship in the US where something related to finance seems most appealing.
‘If I do good, I want to turn pro,’ she says, noting that studying and attaining a degree must come first.
Even with all her success, the pressure of big-game play seems a world away. If pressure affects her, it’s not evident.
‘I don’t know how I deal with it,’ she says, genuinely bewildered by the question. ‘I keep things simple, I guess.’
Like at the recent Match Play Championship, where she played heroically even if it meant going down against good friend Lisa Coetzer in the semi-finals. ‘It wasn’t much fun,’ she says.
She’s clearly having the time of her life, playing a game she loves and seeing where it takes her. She knows her formidable streak can stop at any time, but for now she’s revelling in getting the reward for working hard. The journey continues.
ROGER SEDRES/ERNEST BLIGNAULT/GOLFRSA/SUPPLIED
