France’s Delacour claims glory in SA Women’s Open

France’s Perrine Delacour claimed her second victory on the Ladies European Tour when she won the Investec SA Women’s Open by two shots at Erinvale Country & Golf Estate on Sunday.

In a thrilling final round in which the lead changed hands several times, Delacour made two key birdies in her final four holes to close with a 70 and win on 14 under par.

SA’s Casandra Alexander made a strong charge with her final round of 66 to take second place on 12 under par. Australia’s Kelsey Bennett and England’s Bronte Law shared third place on 11 under par.

Delacour started a windy final round with two bogeys in her first six holes to suddenly bring several players into contention.

“I didn’t start the way I wanted to. I didn’t know how many players were coming up behind me. I was just trying to stay focused on my own game.

“I made a great birdie on 15, which was playing very hard, and then another birdie on 16. Coming down 18, I knew I was leading but I didn’t know by how many shots, so on 18 I just wanted to hit the green and make par,” said Delacour.

The win was a huge confidence boost for the French golfer as she looks forward to dividing her time between the Ladies European Tour and LPGA Tour.

“It’s been great to win again after a rough start to my year. I’m really happy because I sometimes struggle mentally and this proved I can win on tour even when not leading after nine holes, or being tied after nine holes. I trusted myself and got it done, so I’m pretty happy about that.”

The Investec SA Women’s Open was the final tournament on this year’s Sunshine Ladies Tour, with several season awards on offer.

SA’s Casandra Alexander wrapped up a magnificent season in which she claimed the overall Investec Order of Merit. Alexander had the best season of her career in which she didn’t finish outside the top five in seven tournaments, including a win and three runner-up finishes.

“I feel like I really earned it this year. My team and I have worked so hard to get me in the right place to be able to play any golf course in any condition at any time.

“The confidence I can now take on to the Ladies European Tour is second to none. The game is in a good place, the confidence is in a good place, so who knows what the future holds,” said Alexander, who earned a R200,000 bonus and the use of a Renault car for a year.

Investec-sponsored golfer Kaiyuree Moodley won the R&A Rookie of the Year Award after an impressive first season on the Sunshine Tour in which she had three top-10s and finished sixth on the Investec Order of Merit.

SA’s Gia Raad walked away with the Jackie Mercer trophy as the leading amateur. Raad was the only amateur to make the cut and closed with a 75 to finish on level par.