Investec South African Women’s Open winner Alice Hewson, from Berkhamsted GC, claimed her maiden win in her first LET start at Westlake GC. Picture by TRISTAN JONES

ALICE Hewson kicked off her professional career with the best possible start by winning the Investec South African Women’s Open on her first start.

The 22-year-old rookie member of the Ladies European Tour came from three shots behind overnight leader Olivia Cowan to win by a shot, at Cape Town’s Westlake Golf Club.

Hewson, a member at Berkhamsted Golf Club, in Hertfordshire, said: “I couldn’t have hoped for a better start.

“It feels absolutely incredible and it really is a dream come true. Growing up as a kid, all I could ever dream of was playing on the Ladies European Tour and to come and win my first event, the feeling is indescribable.”

Hewson, who turned professional in September and finished fifth at LET Qualifying School, in January, said: “This has definitely happened a lot quicker than I thought it would.

“I was hoping to get off to a nice steady start, but this is definitely a good thing.”

Hewson birdied the first hole in the final round of the South African Women’s Open.

And although Alice bogeyed the third, she quickly clawed another shot back on the fourth hole, moving to five-under par.

She entered a four-way share of the lead after nine holes, and then took the sole advantage after the three players in the final group all bogeyed the 10th hole.

With a bogey of her own on the 11th, Hewson dropped back into a share of the lead, but then broke away from the pack with a birdie on the long 13th hole – and the rest of the field was unable to catch her.

While the rest of the golf world was going into lockdown because of the cornonavirus pandemic – which forced The Players’ Championship to be abandoned at Sawgrass 24 hours earlier, Hewson had the world stage to herself briefly.

Berkhamsted’s Euorpean Ladies Amateur Champion Alice Hewson holes on the 18th green – which turned out to be the winning shot. Picture by TRISTAN JONES

It could have been a shaky finish for a lesser player, as Alice found trouble under the trees on 18.

Her second shot hit some branches, causing the ball to drop back down into the rough.

But the first Englishwoman to play a competitive round at Augusta nearly a a year ago, played a gutsy chip shot up to the green.

And then the veteran of two Curtis Cups holed a seven-foot par putt to complete a round of 71, to post a five-under total.

Hewson added: “The 18th was a bit of a highlight because I was in a bit of trouble off the tee and was still in trouble after my third shot.

“I think another highlight would be the par-five 13th, because I made a solid birdie there,” said the 2019 European Ladies’ Amateur Champion.

“Most of the week my putting has been very good, and my driving,” said the Clemson University graduate.

“I just went out there to play my own game. This golf course can play pretty tough and it’s going to give some shots back to you.

“So I tried to keep my game super steady and make some birdies.”

When asked if she was concerned about whether the tournament should have been played, given the coronavirus pandemic, Hewson said: “I think it was definitely the right decision that we continued playing this week – and it’s also the right decision that future tournaments have been cancelled.

“Everyone was already here and there is a very low risk here. So it was nice to be able to play some golf, because we don’t know how long it’s going to be now before we will again.”

Hewson finished a stroke ahead of Sweden’s Emma Nilsson and South African Monique Smit, who both recorded career-best finishes of second on the LET.

•For final results at the South African Women’s Open click here.

Investec Order Of Merit Winner Monique Smit. Picture by SHAUN ROY

Smit win’s Sunshine Ladies Order of Merit

MONIQUE Smit’s joint runner-up finish in the South African Women’s Open also saw her leapfrog fellow LET member Stacy Bregman to win the Sunshine Ladies Tour’s Investec Order of Merit

Smit said: “This is unreal. Right now, it’s very surreal. Standing over the final putt, I knew I had to hole it and I just felt extremely confident. That putt earned me my travel money for the year.

“My mom passed away last year and in every tournament this season, I’ve thought of her because she always used to caddie for me on the Sunshine Ladies Tour.

“Today, facing that final putt, I really felt her and that putt was for my mom,” said an emotional Smit.

Scotland’s Kelsey MacDonald, Belgian Manon de Roey and France’s Manon Gidali were tied for fourth, while Cowan, from Germany, finished tied for seventh.

The leading amateur was former Youth Olympian Kaiyuree Moodley, who finished in a tie for 46^th place.

Kaiyuree Moodley winner of the Jacky Mercer Trophy for the leading amateur at the Investec South African Women’s Open at Westlake Golf Club. Picture by SHAUN ROY

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Pasqualle Coffa and Lars Keunan who are taking part in the ground-breaking tournament at Saint-Malo Golf Resort with playes from the LET Access and Alps Tours taking part in France.
Picture by TRISTAN JONES

TWO couples and a pair of sisters are competing against each other as part of the same field in this week’s Saint-Malo Golf Mixed Open – with female and male players compete for the same trophy and prize fund.

The 72-hole tournament at Saint-Malo Golf Resort in Brittany, France, starts today (Thursday) and is the first professional tournament to draw together male and female golfers from two Tours in a single field.

Pasqualle Coffa, from the Netherlands, will take on her fellow rising stars from the Ladies European Tour Access Series, as well as golfers from the Alps Tour – where her boyfriend Lars Keunan is a regular.

Meanwhile, France’s fellow Alps Tour member Thomas Leberre will be playing against his girlfriend, Audre Fausnaugh, from the United States.

For Coffa and Keunan, who both come from Eindhovensche Golf and will be chasing the same trophy, the tournament offers a unique chance to compete in the same event and claim the all-important bragging rights.

“It’s fun because we always play against each other in practise and we are always competitive,” said Coffa, a rookie on the LET in 2019.

“He caddied for me in the last round last week in Belgium and he told me that if I miss the cut here, I will have to caddie for him this weekend, so I’m going to beat him this week, because otherwise, I will be angry. He might hit it longer, but I think my wedges are better than his.”

Keunan, who shares Coffa’s spirit, said that they will be playing for pride, but is also keen for the event to be a success.

“At first we were going to play for five or 10 euros, but then in the end, we thought that we would kill each other,” he said.

“I’m excited about this week but also curious to see how the organisers will make it a fair test for both the men and the women.”

While the competition will be fierce between the Dutch pair, there will also be an unofficial battle for “low-couple.”

Le Berre and Fausnaugh were on the same golf team at the University of Central Florida and both practise together at Chantilly Golf Club.

“It’s the first time we’re competing against each other in the same field, so it’s exciting and I hope Audre does well,” said Le Beurre.

Fausnaugh, who moved from Orlando to France two-and-a-half years ago, added: “We don’t usually compete for anything but I think it’s good practise to play with boys because they are all so good, so I’ll be used to it this week.

Bolstering the field further are Swedish sisters, Emma and Sarah Nilsson, whose parents are caddying for them.

Swedish sisters Emma and Sarah Nilsson are playing this week. Picture by TRISTAN JONES

Four-time LET Access Series winner Emma Nilsson, who won the 2018 Order of Merit, said: “It’s fun to try this new format and I hope to do well.

“At the end of the day, we are all golfers and we do the same job, so I think it will help to promote a family-friendly image for our sport and it’s interesting for people to watch, as well. It’s great to be in Saint-Malo and the course is beautiful.”

The field brings together recent LET Access Series tournament winners Greta Isabella Voelker (Neuchatel Ladies Championship) and Emma Grechi (Belfius Ladies Open), with recent Alps Tour winners Eduardo Lipparelli (Open de Saint Francois Region Guadaloupe), Benjamin Wheeler (Red Sea Little Venice Open), Timon Balti (Gosser Open), Luca Cianchetti (Katameya Dunes Open) and Frederique Lacroix (Ein Bay Open and Alps de Las Castillas).

The latter is a multiple winner looking for his third victory this season in order to advance directly to the Challenge Tour, following in the footsteps of the likes of current European Tour player Matt Wallace, who earned the automatic promotion.

The competition tees off on Thursday morning and after two rounds, there will be a cut to the leading 45 players and ties.

The champion will take home the trophy, a cheque for €7,200 on Sunday, and – perhaps most importantly – a place in golfing history, as the winner of the first professional tournament to draw together male and female golfers from two Tours in a single field.

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