SA WOMEN'S OPEN
Flying The
FLAG
The Investec SA Women's Open is the flagship of the Sunshine Ladies Tour and our locals will be keen to return the trophy to home soil
BY GARY LEMKE
jayden schaper
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It's been 17 years since a South African other than Ashleigh Buhai or Lee-Anne Pace has won the Investec SA Women's Open, and in fact four of the last seven instalments have fallen into foreign hands. That's not to say we haven't marvelled at the brilliance of Perrine Delacour, Manon De Roey, Alice Hewson and Diksha Dagar in recent years – it's more a case of, 'can we have our national treasure back please?'
Buhai won the last of her four titles at Steenberg Golf Club in 2023 and Pace won the last of her five titles at the same course in 2022. Before that, we need to go back to Tandi Cunningham, who won at Parkview Golf Club in 2009.
Now though, we have some fresh faces who are ready to go into battle for their country at the oldest golf course in the land, Royal Cape Golf Club.
The South African challenge will be headed by a player going places and who has risen to a career high 43 in the Rolex World Rankings. To think that it was only a year ago when Cas Alexander was talking about breaking into the top 100 women's golfers in the world. One recalls that Buhai – who is playing on the LPGA Tour and therefore won't be at Royal Cape this month – was No84 when she won the 2022 British Women's Open. Alexander has worked her way into those discussions when the Majors come round.
'The biggest lesson I've learned is to never stop. Never stop trying. Never stop improving. Never give up on a round. But also to never stop having fun'
OUR HOME WINNERS
2023
Ashleigh Buhai
2022
Lee-Anne Pace
2021
Lee-Anne Pace
2018
Ashleigh Buhai
2017
Lee-Anne Pace
2015
Lee-Anne Pace
2014
Lee-Anne Pace
2009
Tandi Cunningham
2007
Ashleigh Simon (Buhai)
2004
Ashleigh Simon (Buhai)
2002
Mandy Adamson
2001
Vanessa Smith
1999
Barbara Pestana
1998
Barbara Pestana
1997
Mandy Adamson
1996
Laurette Mauritz
1995
Mandy Adamson
1989
Laurette Mauritz
Last year, at Erinvale, Alexander came charging through the field with a closing 66, but was still two shots adrift of France's Delacour, who had set the tone with an opening 65.
It was a tough final leaderboard to absorb from a South African perspective. Only Alexander (2nd) and Kiera Floyd (5th) were in the top 30 as the foreigners swamped the locals. However, this year Alexander and Floyd have backup.
One of those is Danielle du Toit (main image), who has made giant strides this Sunshine Ladies Tour season. The Investec-sponsored 27-year-old has only been a pro since 2023 but has won her Ladies European Tour card and in March she took her next steps forward as a professional.
As a kid growing up in Pretoria she first caught the eye when she was hitting rocks with a stick.
'It's an interesting story because no one in my immediate family plays; however, my aunt was quite keen. Friends of ours saw me hitting rocks with a stick, and they encouraged my parents to take me for lessons. My aunt kind of stepped in from there and kindled the flame. She would take me out on the course and set challenges, and that really made me fall in love with the sport. Before I knew it, I started playing tournaments and never looked back,' said Du Toit.
Her first win on the Sunshine Ladies Tour arrived at the 2025 NTT DATA Ladies Pro-Am, but this season she has struck form.
Gallery below
In the space of four weeks, she finished T8th in the SuperSport Ladies Challenge at Humewood in February, 15th in defending her Fancourt title, won the Standard Bank Ladies Open at Durbanville Golf Club and was beaten in a playoff in the Jabra Ladies Classic at Killarney Country Club. The purple patch continued with a Top 20 finish at the Platinum Ladies Open as she started April as the highest-ranked South African on the Sunshine Ladies Tour this season, in third position behind Germans Celina Sattelkau and Sophie Witt.
'The biggest lesson I've learned is to never stop. Never stop trying. Never stop improving. Never give up on a round. But also to never stop having fun, because if you are not having fun, nothing will work. I had to learn that one the hard way through many tribulations over the last two years, but in the last couple of months, I've made it a priority to seek the joy in every moment, and I can't emphasise enough how much that has changed my daily life,' Du Toit said after her win at Durbanville.
Victory was made all the more sweet in that she had loved ones in the gallery. 'I told my sister later that it was the first time that I actually played well in front of them! In the past, I always tried too hard to play well in front of them; this time, I really relied on their support to galvanise me through the round. I cannot overstate how much it meant to me to celebrate this victory with them. It was one of the most special moments of my life.'
Those special moments are likely to start stacking up. 'One of my big goals is to play in a Major championship and make the cut. I've had my eye on it for a while now, but I finally feel like I'm in the right spot to achieve that goal.'
Making another bold statement in this month's Investec SA Women's Open would go a long way to setting the tone for what is still to come.
MARK SAMPSON | SUNSHINE TOUR
