Article Search

 Women's World Cup kicks off
    Grant Winter
    January 18 2008 at 07:28AM
Get IOL on your
mobile at m.iol.co.za

The players taking part in the Women's World Cup from Friday agree on one thing - the rough is absolutely brutal.

"You're definitely going to have to stay on the straight and narrow if you want to contend this week," said South Africa's Laurette Maritz.

"It may sound rather obvious, but the trick is to hit fairways and greens and hope for a bit of magic with the putter on the greens," added the 44 year old, who is partnering 18-year-old Ashleigh Simon for the fourth consecutive year in the 20-nation tournament.

After plentiful summer rains, the thick, knotty kikuyu grass just off the fairways on the Gary Player Country Club course will be seriously problematic for any players straying off line.
Continues Below ↓





"You can be a metre off the fairway and you can lose your ball - I know because it happened to me in a practice round," said Germany's Bettina Hauert, who won twice on the Ladies European Tour last year and finished second to Sweden's Sophie Gustafson on the 2007 Order of Merit.

"I hope there's a lot of ball-spotters out there over the next three days," she added with a chuckle.

The big-hitting Swedes are being touted as favourites following the great season by Gustafson last year, while the team's other player, Maria Hjorth, was fifth on the moneylist, but played more events in America than in Europe, winning the LPGA's Navistar Classic.

"It's great to be considered favourites, but there are a lot of other good teams and we'll have to be at our best to have a chance," said Hjorth.

The United States, with seven-time Major champion Juli Inkster partnering Pat Hurst, are also looking strong.

"Hopefully we'll contend, but being so early in the season, we're not too sure what to expect. We've managed to loosen the bones up, though, and get in some good range time, so hopefully we'll be okay," said Inkster.


Continues...


Email StoryPrint Story
BOOKMARK THIS STORY
Social bookmarking allows users to save and categorise a personal collection of bookmarks and share them with others. This is different to using your own browser bookmarks which are available using the menus within your web browser.

Use the links below to share this article on the social bookmarking site of your choice.

Read more about social bookmarking at Wikipedia - Social Bookmarking

muti



Subscribe now to The Star
     Related Articles
More Golf stories

Watch IOLs latest videos on YouTube Join IOLs Facebook page Follow IOL on Twitter





     Online Services

Date Your Destiny
 
I'm a 48 year old man looking to meet women between the ages of 40 and 50.
 

     More Services

     More Golf Stories

     Breaking News      Most Read Stories
      Top News Stories
      Top IOL Sport Stories
      Top Reads - Yesterday



     Entertainment      Motoring
Sheen fights for his marriage
Benson to headline Cape jazz festival
Elton John urged to cancel Israel concert

     Business
Jobs data reveals SA on the right road
Forget about rand; schooling key to growth
Swiss to buy into Adcock division
FIRST DRIVES: Hyundai's new 'Tucson' and sexy Sonata
Killer crash bags in fresh recall scandal
Struggling new teams can miss three races - Todt
Classic machines howl at Killarney Historic meeting
Yamaha, Ducati set pace at Sepang

     Travel
SA's first liquor-free hotel
Gateway to love is around the corner
Explore the real SA for yourself
Full-body scanners ready to boost security
Fun on islands in the sun
     Careers
Changing lanes in the career highway
Getting to grips with the transport industry
To be your own boss, believe in yourself first
Salary survey puts unstable economy into the equation
Development of child is key