First Round Lead Wins Skarpnord SA Open Title

It was the shortest tournament victory in the career of Marianne Skarpnord. But it was also the toughest.

The Norwegian was declared the winner of the South African Women’s Open on Sunday after yet another brutal day of weather on the South Coast. With only the first round having been completed on Friday before the rain hit, the tournament was always under pressure to beat a freak run of weather.

Saturday’s play was completely washed out. Sunday allowed for a few holes of play before first the rain caused a suspension, and then gale force winds hit the course. At around 16:00, with the forecast for Monday showing equally strong winds, the Ladies European Tour and tournament promoters took the decision to declare the winner based on the first round scores alone.

Skarpnord’s three-under-par 69 was therefore good enough for the win. South Africans Ashleigh Simon and Stacy Bregman, Finland’s Minea Blomqvist, England’s Charley Hull, Sweden’s Camilla Lennarth, America’s Katie Burnett and German Nina Holleder all shared second place on tow-under-par 70.

“It’s not the way we all would have liked to end the tournament, but we all understand how difficult the weather was. It was a very challenging week for everybody,” said Skarpnord.

South Africa’s Kim Williams finished as the leading amateur following her round of level-par 72, earning her the Jackie Mercer Trophy.