Date: 14/03/19

Location: Cape Town, South Africa

Course: Westlake Golf Club

Prize Fund: R 2,000,000

Defending Champion: Ashleigh Buhai -9

The field of 126 international golfers do battle at Westlake Golf Club this week and we look at 4 players who could be lifting the trophy come Saturday.

Margie Whitehouse, the chair of the Women’s PGA of South Africa, said about the event: “As the oldest and most prestigious professional women’s golf tournament since 1988, the Investec South African Women’s Open is the WPGA’s flagship event. On this 31st anniversary, we would like to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to Investec Property for their sponsorship, as well as to the City of Cape Town for their continued support.”

Kajal Mistry (a) (South Africa)

The 18-year-old GolfRSA Elite Squad player, who heads to college in the USA later this year has had a good start to 2019 playing on the Sunshine Ladies Tour in South Africa. So far this season she has finished 20th, 4th, 2nd (loosing in a playoff), 8th and runner up again last week. Those results have moved her to 3rd on the Order of Merit. That is pretty good form for anyone let alone an 18 year old amateur.

Mistry is defiantly one to watch for the future and It will be interesting to see what she can produce this week on the LET. There is no reason why her form should change and we can see her challenging at the top of the leaderboard come the final round. Remember the name Kajal Mistry.

Ashleigh Buhai (South Africa)

Last years champion Buhai will want to win her national championship again this year. She is aiming for her 4th win at the South African Open to put her along side fellow compatriot Lee-Anne Pace.

She started the season well on the LPGA where she had finishes of 11th and 15th before retiring from the Australian Ladies Classic a few weeks ago. If she has recovered she is in good form and returning to a course she has won at. About her injury she said “I started to hit pain free on Saturday so I’m looking forward to defending now.”

The world number 115 said about the event “I really enjoyed playing at Westlake. It’s a strategic course and you have to place the ball. Being in the Cape, the wind can pick up but I really enjoy it. We’ve obviously had a lot more water down in Cape Town and the course should be in better condition too. Thank goodness that the city has received a lot more water and the restrictions have been lifted."

“The tournament is hugely important and it’s part of the Chase to the Investec Cup on the Sunshine Ladies Tour, where there are currently seven tournaments in South Africa. This year I haven’t been able to play in as many, but the Investec SA Women’s Open is the biggest one and now being co-sanctioned with the LET, it’s a huge boost for women’s golf in South Africa.”

Karolin Lampert (Germany)

Karloin, from Germany, finished runner up here last year. She ended up 2 shots behind Buhai and was leading heading into the final round. She will look to bounce back from the disappointment of last year by claiming her first LET title this week.

Lampert also finished runner up at the Jabra Ladies Open last year and had 2 other top 10 finishes on the LET. Her game is trending in the right direction this season. After finishing 35th in the opening event on the LET she finished 25th at the Ladies Classic Bonville before a top 20 at the Canberra Classic and ended up 8th last week.

After a few good results on the Symetra Tour as well last year Lampert has risen to world number 250.

Meghan MacLaren (England)

Last weeks winner Meghan didn't win by fluke. Her hard work on the practice ground has paid off. The signs were on the cards and her results showed that she was playing her way into contention most weeks.

Before defending her NSW Open title last week in Australia she had had some good results. She finished 22nd on the LPGA at the Women's Australian Open before finishing well at the Ladies Classic and the Canberra Classic back on the LET.

Meghan didn't play here last year preferring to head to America and play on the Symetra Tour. It will be interesting to see if she can keep the momentum going and not be too tired with the quick turn around from Australia to South Africa. If she gets to the top of the leaderboard after round 1 she will be tough to catch. Now ranked 214th in the world.