The fourth Women's World Cup of Golf begins at Sun City in just two days' time, and Ashleigh Simon goes into it inspired by - as she exclaims - "the national rugby team!"
The Springboks winning the World Cup has made South Africa proud, and the SA women's golf team - 18-year-old "Ash" is partnering veteran Laurette Maritz for the fourth successive year - is no exception. There's a feeling of "if John Smit and the boys can do it, so can we".
However, the opposition over the three days of the 20- nation event on the Gary Player Country Club course will be fierce.
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Sweden, who won here two years ago when Annike Sorenstam and Liselotte Neumann took the honours, are again a formidable force. Their team consists of Sophie Gustafson, who was No1 on the 2007 Ladies European Tour (LET), and Maria Hjorth.
Gustafson ,34, who is passionate about music and riding motorbikes and has a penchant for colouring her hair to suit her mood, has over 20 worldwide victories, while Hjorth is also a multiple winner in Europe and has a BA Honours degree in English.
Teams from Europe are traditionally strong and Germany, France, Spain, Italy, England, Scotland and Wales all have a chance in the 54-hole event, which consists of betterball on Friday, foursomes on Saturday and betterball again in Sunday's final session of play.
Germany's Bettinna Hauert, a snowboarder in the northern hemisphere winter, was second behind Gustafson on the 2007 LET moneylist, and this week her teammate is blonde, blue-eyed Martina Eberl, who is one of Europe's most promising young professional golfers.
Talented Paula Marti from Spain, who grew up playing junior golf with Sergio Garcia, missed out on last year's event as she was on maternity leave after giving birth to her first child. But she is looking forward to the return to Sun City following a 2007 season in which she enjoyed seven top-10 finishes.
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