The Sunshine Ladies Tour’s latest homegrown champion, 21-year-old Gabrielle Venter, is excited for this week’s ABSA Ladies Invitational at Royal Johannesburg, saying she comes armed with the experience of playing the course regularly as an amateur.
“I love that course. I have played there a bunch of times in the SA Amateur. So, I think the same game plan will work. I am just going to stay aggressive and hopefully the putter behaves,” said Venter following her win in the Platinum Ladies Open at Blair Atholl Golf and Equestrian Estate on Friday.
Venter is joined in the field by Danielle du Toit and France’s Lois Lau, both recent winners on the Sunshine Ladies Tour, as well as defending champion Thalia Martin from England, and who claimed her maiden professional title in last year’s ABSA Ladies Invitational.
This week’s tournament is the last in the lead-up to the two Ladies European Tour co-sanctioned tournaments, with the Joburg Ladies Open taking place from 16-19 April at Randpark Golf Club, and the Investec South African Women’s Open being played from 23-26 April at Royal Cape Golf Club.
Germany’s Celina Sattelkau and Sophie Witt currently occupy the top two positions on this year’s Investec Order of Merit, with Sattelkau having claimed back-to-back victories in February.
Du Toit is currently third on the Investec Order of Merit after winning the Standard Bank Ladies Open hosted by the City of Cape Town in early March, and adding finishes of tied eighth in the SuperSport Ladies Challenge and tied second in the Jabra Ladies Classic. This year’s Investec Order of Merit winner will receive a R200 000 bonus as well as the use of a Renault vehicle for a year.
South Africa’s Caitlyn Macnab and Zane Kleynhans, together with France’s Lois Lau, are the top three leading the charge for The R&A Rookie of the Year honours. The leading rookie at the end of the season receives automatic exemptions, if not already exempt, into the 2027 Investec South African Women’s Open and Joburg Ladies Open.
Winners on this year’s Sunshine Ladies Tour will also receive exemptions to compete with the Sunshine Tour professionals in the Waterfall City Tournament of Champions supported by Attacq and WCMC in early June, where they will compete for a first prize of R1 million for the professionals.