East London’s professional golfing sisters Yolanda and Siviwe Duma will be in fierce action over the next few days, as the 2018 Investec SA Women’s Open takes centre-stage at Westlake Golf Club in Cape Town from today.
The sisters have found the going tough since turning pro around a year and a half ago, and are hoping for a strong showing at the champs this week.
“If we could do well on this one it could really be life-changing for us,” said Yolanda.
“We have always had a struggle with funds, as turning pro is extremely expensive and you have to constantly pay out of your own pocket just to play the game you love.
“It would be nice if maybe we can get a company out there who can help us out with the tournament expenses at least, or get a car from one of the companies so we can at least travel with it and cut down the flight costs.”
Both sisters have yet to win a pro event. However, things have been looking up, for Yolanda in particular over the past few months.
Some encouraging finishes have raised hopes of a strong performance at the SA champs, which could lead to a solid placing.
“I have gained some good experience over the past year. We have to make cuts, so that’s what makes it a little bit harder,” said Yolanda.
“But I have managed to make three cuts out of five recently, and my best performance was in Johannesburg in Modderfontein in the Jo’burg Open. I came 19th, which was big for me.”
But since going pro it has been an uphill battle for the sisters due to funding.
“Playing on the Sunshine Tour is expensive,” said Yolanda.
“We did better this year than last because this time around we didn’t have to worry much about the funds because we saved some from the Golf Day we had last year in East London in June, but it was not enough because we used a lot in the Pinkstig tournaments in December last year.”
But with a massive payday on the cards should they claim a good finish at the SA champs, both sisters will be going all out over the next four days to get a share of the R2-million prize purse.
Sisters to do it for themselves in cash stakes
The sisters have found the going tough since turning pro around a year and a half ago, and are hoping for a strong showing at the champs this week.
“If we could do well on this one it could really be life-changing for us,” said Yolanda.
“We have always had a struggle with funds, as turning pro is extremely expensive and you have to constantly pay out of your own pocket just to play the game you love.
“It would be nice if maybe we can get a company out there who can help us out with the tournament expenses at least, or get a car from one of the companies so we can at least travel with it and cut down the flight costs.”
Both sisters have yet to win a pro event. However, things have been looking up, for Yolanda in particular over the past few months.
Some encouraging finishes have raised hopes of a strong performance at the SA champs, which could lead to a solid placing.
“I have gained some good experience over the past year. We have to make cuts, so that’s what makes it a little bit harder,” said Yolanda.
“But I have managed to make three cuts out of five recently, and my best performance was in Johannesburg in Modderfontein in the Jo’burg Open. I came 19th, which was big for me.”
But since going pro it has been an uphill battle for the sisters due to funding.
“Playing on the Sunshine Tour is expensive,” said Yolanda.
“We did better this year than last because this time around we didn’t have to worry much about the funds because we saved some from the Golf Day we had last year in East London in June, but it was not enough because we used a lot in the Pinkstig tournaments in December last year.”
But with a massive payday on the cards should they claim a good finish at the SA champs, both sisters will be going all out over the next four days to get a share of the R2-million prize purse.
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