Welcome to the Free Drop Sunshine Ladies Tour wrap where we recap the performances of former Free Drop podcast guests throughout the Cape Town Ladies Open.
T-1. Cara Gorlei (-5)
After beginning her tournament with three-under par 71, 25-year-old Gorlei played steady golf and a second-round two-under par 72 has her tied for the lead with Caitlyn Macnab on five-under par.
Playing in the final group, Gorlei opened proceedings with six straight pars. She responded very well to dropped shots at the 7th and 9th holes with an eagle-3 at the par-5 11th. Further birdies at the 12th and 14th had Gorlei handily placed at two under for the day.
After a bogey-4 at the 15th, a closing birdie was the perfect ending to a second consecutive day of solid golf from Gorlei who will go in search of a maiden professional title in the final round.
T-17 Casandra Hall (+5)
Ladies European Tour player Casandra Hall improved her opening round effort by one, shooting a two-over 76 to end the day in a tie for 17th place.
Hall’s start to the round was tough to say the least as she opened with a bogey before she carded a double-bogey 6 at the short par-4 2nd. Much-needed birdies at the 6th and 8th holes respectively repaired some of the damage as Hall turned in two-over.
An inward nine consisting of two bogeys and a birdie at the 15th saw Hall sign for a two-over par round.
T-19 Nicole Garcia (+6)
Nicole Garcia showed on Thursday why she is such a quality player – bettering her round one 82 by 10 shots to end round two in a tie for 19th-place.
Garcia made a great start to her day with birdies at her second and third holes of the day – Royal Cape’s 11th and 12th respectively. After the double-drop at 11 in round one, Garcia was no doubt delighted to record a red-number.
A bogey-6 at her 7th hole was offset by a third birdie of the round at the par-4 18th. A birdie-bogey start to her inward nine was followed by seven consecutive pars as Garcia ended the day well inside the cut-line and inside the top-20 on the leaderboard too.
Well played, Nicole.
T-25 Ivanna Samu (+8)
It was a tough day for Ivanna SAmu as she signed for a seven-over par 81.
A bogey-triple bogey start had the former amateur star behind the 8-ball early. She fought back valiantly, however, with birdies at the fourth and sixth but a double-bogey 5 at the 8th-hole meant that Samu turned in 41.
Unfortunately Samu struggled to string good holes together for a sustained period on the back-nine and though she carded two birdies, four dropped shots over the closing thre holes punctuated by a double-bogey at her final hole.
If there’s one thing about Samu though – she is a fighter of note so look for her to finish strong in the third round.
MC Kaylah Williams (+16)
Kaylah Williams will be looking to put what happened to her in round two behind her in double-quick time.
Bogeys at her first four holes and a double-drop at the 5th set the tone for what would be a tough day on the course. Three further bogeys over the remaining holes on the outward nine meant that Williams turned in 46.
She certainly deserves credit for fighting back on the second-nine – notching three consecutive pars at 10, 11 and 12. Three bogeys over the remaining holes to go along with a double and two pars meant that the Womens Golf South Africa Open Player of The Year signed for a two-round tally of 16-over 164.
Final thoughts
It was a topsy-turvy day for the players in round two but those who made the cut have every chance of finishing the tournament on a high.
Best of luck to all the players in the third and final round.
Photo: Carl Fourie/Sunshine Ladies Tour/ Gallo Images
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