Swiss International Amateur golfer Azelia Meichtry was in top form to claim the win at the Border Ladies Strokeplay Championships played at the East London Golf Club this week.
Meichtry produced a remarkable comeback after she endured a terrible first round to trail defending champion and Border's number one golfer Zethu Myeki by eight shots, only to storm back in the second and third rounds to claim a two-shot win over South African number one Ivanna Samu in the end.
Myeki slipped off the pace a little after her impressive first round and had to settle for third, six shots off the pace.
“It was a very tough competition this year, we had some great golfers here,” said Myeki. “I played really nicely, but I let it go over the last few holes.”
The first 18-holes, played on day one, saw some challenging conditions, however Myeki was in superb form as she handled the tough conditions to finish with a first round 72, four shots ahead of Samu in second place, while Meichtry was back in sixth.
The second round saw Samu and Meichtry lead the way with rounds of 71, while Myeki’s round of 74 meant she went into the final round with a one-stroke lead over Samu, while Meichtry was now in third, five shots off the top.
The final round was then all about Meichtry as she became the only golfer to drop below 70 with an amazing round of 66, which allowed her to storm ahead and finish comfortably on 217 overall.
Samu’s final round 72 meant she finished on 219 for the tournament while Myeki’s final round 77 meant she ended on 223.
“I am very happy with the way I am playing at the moment,” said Myeki. “I want to keep doing well and next year I can maybe come and win the title again.”
Border golfers Demi Flanagan (230) and Siviwe Duma (234) then rounded out the top five. Yolanda Duma (239) in seventh and Millie Zim (241) in eighth also did well to give Border a strong presence in the top 10.
On Tuesday the Border closed Matchplay competition was then battled out as Border's best went head-to-head against one another.
Flanagan emerged victorious after another great performance to make it four wins in a row over the past four years and keep her dominance in the event going.
“I was very happy to win, matchplay is my strong point and I have a good mind for it, so I just had to go out there, do my best and play the course, not my opponent, and it worked,” said Flanagan.
It was no surprise when Border’s top two golfers made it to the matchplay final again, the same pairing as last year where Flanagan beat Myeki, and this year was a similar affair with Flanagan going 2-up on the final hole to seal the win.
Flanagan had reached the final by beating Yolanda Duma in the semis, while Myeki defeated Millie Zim.
Flanagan will now head back to the high performance centre at the University of Pretoria and will look to take this momentum into the rest of the year.
“I have been working hard with my coaches at the HPC so getting this win was great and I hope to pick up some more good results over the year.”
Swiss is Comeback Kid on the fairways
Meichtry produced a remarkable comeback after she endured a terrible first round to trail defending champion and Border's number one golfer Zethu Myeki by eight shots, only to storm back in the second and third rounds to claim a two-shot win over South African number one Ivanna Samu in the end.
Myeki slipped off the pace a little after her impressive first round and had to settle for third, six shots off the pace.
“It was a very tough competition this year, we had some great golfers here,” said Myeki. “I played really nicely, but I let it go over the last few holes.”
The first 18-holes, played on day one, saw some challenging conditions, however Myeki was in superb form as she handled the tough conditions to finish with a first round 72, four shots ahead of Samu in second place, while Meichtry was back in sixth.
The second round saw Samu and Meichtry lead the way with rounds of 71, while Myeki’s round of 74 meant she went into the final round with a one-stroke lead over Samu, while Meichtry was now in third, five shots off the top.
The final round was then all about Meichtry as she became the only golfer to drop below 70 with an amazing round of 66, which allowed her to storm ahead and finish comfortably on 217 overall.
Samu’s final round 72 meant she finished on 219 for the tournament while Myeki’s final round 77 meant she ended on 223.
“I am very happy with the way I am playing at the moment,” said Myeki. “I want to keep doing well and next year I can maybe come and win the title again.”
Border golfers Demi Flanagan (230) and Siviwe Duma (234) then rounded out the top five. Yolanda Duma (239) in seventh and Millie Zim (241) in eighth also did well to give Border a strong presence in the top 10.
On Tuesday the Border closed Matchplay competition was then battled out as Border's best went head-to-head against one another.
Flanagan emerged victorious after another great performance to make it four wins in a row over the past four years and keep her dominance in the event going.
“I was very happy to win, matchplay is my strong point and I have a good mind for it, so I just had to go out there, do my best and play the course, not my opponent, and it worked,” said Flanagan.
It was no surprise when Border’s top two golfers made it to the matchplay final again, the same pairing as last year where Flanagan beat Myeki, and this year was a similar affair with Flanagan going 2-up on the final hole to seal the win.
Flanagan had reached the final by beating Yolanda Duma in the semis, while Myeki defeated Millie Zim.
Flanagan will now head back to the high performance centre at the University of Pretoria and will look to take this momentum into the rest of the year.
“I have been working hard with my coaches at the HPC so getting this win was great and I hope to pick up some more good results over the year.”
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