17-year-old Samantha Whateley remains in pole position to secure the biggest win of her career after a second consecutive round of 70 left her with a two-shot lead in the SA Women’s Stroke Play Championship on the West course.
Ominously for Whateley, her nearest competitor is defending champion and South Africa’s No 1 ranked Caitlyn Macnab, who fired the day’s low round, a five-under-par 67 to narrow the gap and put herself in contention after an Opening 75.
“Two shots is nothing, especially given the quality of players in the field, but it is still nice to know that I am leading such a big event,” said the GolfRSA B-Squad member.
“I won’t change my game plan tomorrow. I will try to make sure that I hit all the fairways and hopefully give myself birdie chances.
Whateley, who hails from Country Club Johannesburg, got off to bit of a shaky start and dropped shots on the 10th, 13th and 17th holes, but bounced back with birdies on the 12th, 15th and 18th to reach the turn at level par for the day.
Two late birdies, on the 7th and 8th, kept her in the driving seat.
Nadia van der Westhuizen and Megan Streicher are at level par, four shots off the lead, with Kiera Floyd a shot further back after a round of 69.
“I got off to quite a slow start because I wasn’t getting the ball close enough to the hole to give myself good birdie chances,” said Macnab. “It was only at the end when I started rolling a few in.
“I’m only two shots back, so anything can happen. I’ll go and work on my game now and hopefully tomorrow I can put in a strong performance.”
In the B-Section, 11-year-old Kaitlyn van de Vyver from Eagle Canyon carded a second round 79 on the West to open up a two-shot lead on 30 over par.
She edged clear of joint first-round leaders, Casey Twidale and Lea van der Merwe. Twidale, 12, from Randpark and Zwartkop Country Club’s Van der Merwe, 12, both returned rounds of 86.
Umhlali’s Senayah Moodliar, who also registered a round of 86, is a further two shots adrift.
At the conclusion of the SA Women’s Stroke Play Championship, the top 32 in each division will advance to the match play stage, which will be played on the East Course.
In the B-Section, 11-year-old Kaitlyn van de Vyver from Eagle Canyon carded a second round 79 on the West to open up a two-shot lead on 30 over par.
She edged clear of joint first-round leaders, Casey Twidale and Lea van der Merwe. Twidale, 12, from Randpark and Zwartkop Country Club’s Van der Merwe, 12, both returned rounds of 86.
Women A-Division Leaderboard (top 20):
140 Samantha Whateley 70 70
142 Caitlyn Macnab 75 67
144 Nadia van der Westhuizen 72 72; Megan Streicher 72 72
145 Kiera Floyd 76 69
146 Gabrielle Venter 75 71
147 Isabella van Rooyen 74 73; Kaylah Williams 74 73
148 Jordan Rothman 79 69; Kera Healey 75 73
149 Kaylan Boshof 76 73; Larissa du Preez 74 75
150 Bobbi Brown 74 76
152 Kyra van Kan 75 77
153 Marine Legentil 79 74
154 Bronwyn Leigh Doeg 81 73
155 Demi Flanagan 79 76; Liezl Smit 76 79
156 Stephanie Barbaglia 79 77
157 Victoria Monod SUI 81 76
Women B-Division Leaderboard (top 10):
174 Kaitlyn van de Vyver 95 79
176 Casey Twidale 90 86; Lea van der Merwe 90 86
178 Senayah Moodliar 92 86
182 Lisa Coetzer 91 91
183 Gia Raad 96 87
184 Valda Ford 93 91
185 Ame van der Merwe 96 89
186 Tyla Potgieter 90 96
187 Veronica Paddy 96 91
Photo 1 Caption: 17-year-old Samantha Whateley remains in pole position on Day 2 of the Women’s Stroke Play Championship on Monday, 15 February 2021. Photo: Supplied