Women's Golf Association of India

Ridhima starts season with a fine tied 13^th place in South Africa

Sun City, February 5:Ridhima Dilawari got off to a good start in 2023 as she finished tied-13th at the SuperSport Ladies Challenge in the Sunshine Ladies Tour’s season-opener. Ridhima, one of the two Indians in the field, shot 73 in the final round after 76-71 in the first two rounds.

The other Indian player in the field, Pranavi Urs missed the cut earlier on.

Casandra Alexander cruised to a six-stroke victory as she ended with a closing birdie on the 18th at Gary Player Country Club. The victory starts her 2023 season in the best way possible after a solid 30th place on the Ladies European Tour’s Race to Costa del Sol last year.

Norway’s Dorthea Forbrigd made the most impressive attempt to haul Alexander in with a five-under-par 67 – six birdies and a bogey – lifting her a shot clear of third-placed Lily May Humphreys of England who was on two-under after a closing level-par 72.

Camile Chevalier of France and South African Cara Gorlei shared fourth on one-under, and five-time Investec South African Women’s Open champion Lee-Anne Pace slipped to a closing one-over 73 to finish in a share of seventh on one-over.

Malaysia’s Genevieve Ling, Nicole Garcia and Corinne Viden (SWE) round out the top 10 on three-over.

The local circuit travels to the Southern Cape next for the Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am.

The event received a mammoth bump in prize money – from R600 000 to R2.5-million and will this year be contested on the Outeniqua and Montagu courses at Fancourt, running concurrently with the Sunshine and Challenge Tours’ Dimension Data Pro-Am.