Van Der Westhuizen grabs clubhouse lead in Absa Ladies invitational

Nadia van der Westhuizen ended Friday’s second day of the Absa Ladies Invitational as the clubhouse leader on 11 under par, but with the round still to be completed at Royal Johannesburg.

The second round will resume at 06h15 on Saturday morning after being suspended due to bad light, with the third and final round not starting before 09:00.

Van Der Westhuizen, who signed for a second round of 68, currently leads by four shots over Tina Mazarino who also managed to complete her second round of 68.

Sanna Nuutinen, currently through eight holes, and Doris Chen, currently through five holes, were well placed on seven under when play ended on Friday.

The bad weather of the opening day means the second round will have to be completed on Saturday morning. Van Der Westhuizen had to complete her first round on Friday morning before going into her second round. She managed to do so with a 65 to lead by one shot.

“I am extremely happy about the first round. I haven’t had a bogey-free round in a very long time, I can’t even remember when last that happened,” she said.

Van Der Westhuizen had to endure a long day on Friday.

“I managed to finish 32 holes today to also finish the second round. I was a little bit nervous on the first tee, so starting with three birdies calmed the nerves a little bit. I did hit a few good shots during the round, but the putter was a bit cold. The birdie on the last hole almost topped the day for me – finishing it off strong,” she added.

With two top-10 finishes already this year, Van Der Westhuizen will be banking on what has worked for her so far come Saturday’s final round.

“I think I will stick to the same gameplan. My caddie and I have really been working hard together trying to manage the scores as it is a tough course. I will be trying to give myself as many chances as possible, be aggressive when I need to, and know when not to be aggressive,” Van Der Westhuizen said.

SCORES

-11 - Nadia van der Westhuizen 65 68

-7 - Tina Mazarino (NOR) 69 68

-7 - Sanna Nuutinen (FIN) 66 (-1) [8], Doris Chen (TPE) 66 (-1) [5]

-6 - Louisa Carlbom (SWE) 68 70

-6 - Romy Meekers (NED) 66 72, Caitlyn Macnab 72 66, Jordan Rothman 66 (Par) [7]

-5 - Verena Gimmy (GER) 66 73

-5 - Chloe Salort (FRA) 69 (-2) [10], Elina Saksa (FIN) 67 (Par) [5]

-4 - Danielle du Toit 70 70

-4 - Anna Backman (FIN) 69 (-1) [6], Tereza Melecka (CZE) 69 (-1) [5]

-3 - Zane Kleynhans 70 71

-3 - Nobuhle Dlamini (SWZ) 71 70, Louise Duncan (SCO) 69 (Par) [9]

-2 - Emie Peronnin (FRA) 71 71

-2 - Kiera Floyd 71 71, Ellie Gower (ENG) 69 73

-1 - Cara Gorlei 71 72

-1 - Annabel Wilson (NIR) 70 73, Kaiyuree Moodley 74 69, Stacy Bregman 70 73, Sophie Witt (GER) 69 74, Kesha Louw (a) 71 (Par) [10], Andrea Bergsdottir (ISL) 74 (-3) [7]

Par - Michelle Forsland (NOR) 72 72

Par - Ffion Tynan (WAL) 70 74, Charlotte Liautier (FRA) 73 71, Marianne Skarpnord (NOR) 71 73, Gabrielle Venter 70 74, Ivanna van der Merwe 72 72, Mayka Hoogeboom (NED) 74 (-2) [11], Mia Eales-Smith (ENG) 74 (-2) [10], Lorna McClymont (SCO) 74 (-2) [9], Ashley Chow (CAN) 71 (+1) [9], Rosie Belsham (ENG) 72 (Par) [7]

+1 - Carolin Kauffmann (GER) 74 71

+1 - Theresa de Bochdanovits (GER) 75 70, Lucie Malchirand (FRA) 73 72, Thalia Martin (ENG) 74 71, Bobbi Brown 74 71, Jess Baker (BRI) 71 (+2) [11], Michaela Vavrova (SVK) 67 (+6) [10], Lois Lau (FRA) 73 (Par) [9], Nina Pegova (WHT) 71 (+2) [7]

MISSED THE CUT:-

+2 - Claire Minter (ZIM) 73 (+1) [13]

+2 - Anais Meyssonnier (FRA) 74 (Par) [8], Cara Ford 70 (+4) [7]

+3 - Zethu Myeki 76 71

+3 - Kristyna Napoleaova (CZE) 74 73, Hulda Gestsdottir (ISL) 74 (+1) [9], Louise Rydqvist (SWE) 69 (+6) [9], Michaela Fletcher 74 (+1) [7]

+4 - Symone Henriques 74 74

+4 - Olivia Mehaffey (NIR) 75 73, Kajal Mistry 78 70, Lora Assad 75 73, Maegan Webster (a) 73 (+3) [14], Gala Dumez (FRA) 73 (+3) [13], Charlotte Millard (a) 74 (+2) [11], Rebecca Earl (ENG) 72 (+4) [9], Hannah Karg (GER) 74 (+2) [7]

+5 - Tiffany Arafi (SUI) 75 74

+5 - Laura Beveridge (SCO) 71 78, Bronwyn Doeg 73 (+4) [7], Chiara Horder (GER) 75 (+2) [6]

+6 - Naom Wafula (KEN) 77 73

+6 - Demi Flanagan 72 78, Tandi McCallum 75 (+3) [14], Gia Raad (a) 76 (+2) [10], Elina Nummenpaa (FIN) 76 (+2) [10], Ellen Hume (ENG) 77 (+1) [8], Lianna Bailey (ENG) 74 (+4) [7]

+7 - Linn Wiberg (SWE) 75 76

+7 - Hanna Tauber (GER) 77 74, Kelsey Nicholas 76 75, Lenanda Nel 74 77, Canice Screene (IRL) 79 (Par) [9]

+8 - Shawnelle de Lange 80 0

+8 - Sofie Bringner (SWE) 75 77, Chante van Zyl 78 (+2) [14], Ariane Klotz (FRA) 72 (+8) [10], Taylor White (SCO) 78 (+2) [10]

+9 - Hester Sicking (NED) 76 (+5) [13]

+9 - Megan Dennis (ENG) 75 (+6) [10]

+10 - Lindi Coetzee 78 (+4) [10]

+10 - Shannon Butler (a) 73 (+9) [10]

+11 - Kim de Klerk 78 (+5) [7]

+11 - Kaylah Williams 79 (+4) [6]

+12 - Maiken Bing Paulsen (NOR) 79 77

+15 - Clara Pietri (SUI) 78 81