Twelve months after she lost the Nomads SA Girls Championship title to Ivanna Samu in a three hole play-off, Gauteng North teenager Danielle du Toit basked in glory on the opening day of the prestigious junior event at Orkney Golf Club.
Fresh from testing herself against the cream in junior golf at the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan, the 17-year-old Pretoria Country Club player fired a sublime five-under-par 67 to open up a huge lead on the chasing pack.
Defending champion Ivanna Samu opened with a 73 to finish in a tie for second with fellow Gauteng players Woo-Ju Son and Chiara Contomathios and Lindi Coetzee from Gauteng North.
Gauteng’s Kajal Mistry carded 75 to finish alone in sixth, one shot ahead of Ekurhuleni’s Casandra Hall and two clear of Crystal Beukes from Boland, Chante de Lange from Eastern Province and Gauteng’s Symone Henriques.
Making the most of the sunny conditions in Orkney, Du Toit was hot from the get-go and got the early jump on the field birdies at three, six and seven. She bogeyed the par five ninth to turn two under and quickly reversed a second bogey at 11 with birdie at 12 before she stretched her advantage to six shots with further gains at 14, 17 and 18.
Ruimsig’s Samu was two under through eight holes, but slipped from contention after a double bogey seven at nine and successive drops at 15 and 16. Contomathios answered four bogeys in the first 11 holes with birdies at 12, 16 and 17 to join the bus at one over.
Son – chasing back-to-back success after her fourth win this season at the Limpopo Championship a fortnight ago – turned one over after a double at eight and cancelled a pair of birdies at 13 and 14 with successive bogeys at 15 and 16.
Coetzee from Services Golf Club mixed two bogeys, three birdies and a double at the par three second for her 73.
Holly Lau from Woodhill Country Club opened with an 85 to lead the B-Division (handicaps 10-18) by one shot from fellow Gauteng North player Cleo Jordaan and KwaZulu-Natal’s Charlize Coetzer.
