Magical Manon wins Investec SA Women’s Open

Belgium’s Manon De Roey put the finishing touch to another remarkable Sunshine Ladies Tour season when she claimed a four-stroke victory in the Investec SA Women’s Open at the Erinvale Country and Golf Estate on Sunday. 

De Roey went into the final round with a three-stroke lead and built on this as she eventually signed for a closing 72 to win on 14 under par overall. 

“I’m super happy with my performance this week. I had a couple of goals at the beginning of this year and one of them was to win again,” said De Roey, who claimed her first victory on the Sunshine Ladies Tour and her second on the Ladies European Tour.

England’s Gabriella Cowley, who shared second place on 10 under par alongside New Zealand’s Momoka Kobori, was crowned the Sunshine Ladies Tour’s overall Investec Order of Merit champion and received R200,000. 

And Nicole Garcia finished as the leading South African in fourth place on eight under par. This also secured her second place on the Order of Merit and, as the leading South African here, she won herself a Renault for the year. 

On Sunday, De Roey relished the challenge of another windy day in the Winelands and was never under any pressure from the rest of the field as she cruised to victory. 

“I like playing in windy conditions because I feel like I can shape the ball well. I can just let the wind do the work and I feel a bit more relaxed,” she said. 

SA’s Garcia was equally delighted with her finish after putting in a strong performance on the weekend which included her third round of 64 and then Sunday’s 71 to secure her a top-five finish in this event as well as the title of leading South African on the Order of Merit.

“It was a bit of a surprise to find that out when I walked off the 18th green. I hadn’t realised that it was a possibility. I’m going to enjoy my Renault for the year. But I’m happy with my performance overall, and this is a great added bonus,” she said.

It was also a lucrative final round for France’s Emma Grechi. Grechi scored an albatross on the par-five 16th and won R500,000 courtesy of Renault. The SA Women’s Open was the grand finale on this season’s eight-tournament Sunshine Ladies Tour.