Kiera Floyd rises to the top at Cape Town Ladies Open

Cape Town - Four years competing in Sunshine Ladies Tour events as an amateur stood Kiera Floyd in good stead on Thursday, as she survived another battering by the wind to take a share of the second-round lead of the Cape Town Ladies Open at Atlantic Beach.

Floyd has only just set out on her professional journey, but she drew on the memory of lessons learned as an amateur in the face of high winds which pushed scores to levels bordering on the ridiculous.

Her five-over-par 77 was the third-best of the day and put her at 11-over for the tournament in a three-way share for the lead with Spain’s Mireia Prat and Hayley Davis of England.

“I learned a lot from playing those professional tournaments as an amateur,” said Floyd, who finished third as a 14-year-old in the Jabra Ladies Classic. And last year, in equally windy conditions at Steenberg Golf Club, Floyd lifted the Jackie Mercer Trophy as the leading amateur in the Investec South African Women’s Open.

“I think what I learned about course management was very helpful, and, as a result, I’m not feeling overwhelmed in just my second event as a pro, even though I’m at the top of the leaderboard.

“I managed to take what I got from yesterday’s round into today, and I just went at it one hole at a time. And then, making a birdie on the fifth in the middle of all those shots being dropped was great. I hit it just off the green at the back. It was about a 30-footer downhill and downwind and I felt good over it. It gave me a good confidence-boost.”

It was one of only a couple of dozen birdies made by the 87 players in the field, and that was because the wind was so challenging. Davis, who loves the layout, said keeping the ball in play was paramount.

“It was tough out there, but at least we knew what to expect after the first round because the wind was pretty similar,” she said. “It was a three- or four-club wind most of the day. A couple of the par-fives that are downwind, you have to take advantage of them. But it’s just trying to keep the ball in play out there, really. Anything can happen!”

Former SA Women’s Stroke Play champion Floyd agreed. “It’s very unusual for me to hit s seven-iron from 100 metres,” she said. “Normally, in Johannesburg, I hit my seven-iron 180. So, it was a four-or five-club wind out there. You have to be careful when you go downwind, as well. You have to club down about two or three clubs.”

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Incredibly, the cut fell at 19-over-par as 32 brave souls will venture into the win of the final round.

One shot off the lead is the Sunshine Ladies Tour Order of Merit Leader, Lily May Humphreys of England, who had a four-over-par 76. In fifth on 13-over after the round of the day with a three-over-par 75 was Finland’s Emily Penttila.

Cara Gorlei in touch in brutal condition at Cape Town Ladies Open

It was a brutal day for the African challenge for the title, as only Brittney-Fay Berger, Rondebosch amateur Odette Booysen, local favourite Cara Gorlei and Floyd made the cut, together with Bonita Bredenhann from Namibia.

Floyd’s grit, as well as her embrace of the challenging conditions and her experience under pressure, will make for an interesting final round.

Second round scores

155 - Kiera Floyd 78 77, Mireia Prat (ESP) 75 80, Hayley Davis (ENG) 77 78

156 - Lily May Humphreys (ENG) 80 76

157 - Emily Penttila (FIN) 82 75

158 - Sideri Vanova (CZE) 80 78, Pasqualle Coffa (NED) 77 81

159 - Laura Gomez Ruiz (ESP) 82 77, Bonita Bredenhann (NAM) 82 77, Sanna Nuutinen (FIN) 81 78, Georgina Blackman (ENG) 82 77, Lauren Taylor (ENG) 78 81

160 - Michelle Forsland (NOR) 82 78, Sarina Schmidt (GER) 77 83, Dorthea Forbrigd (NOR) 75 85, Harang Lee (ESP) 80 80

161 - Verena Gimmy (GER) 80 81, Franziska Friedrich (GER) 85 76, Brittney-Fay Berger 79 82, Alexandra Swayne (ISV) 82 79

162 - Hannah Arnold (USA) 85 77, Odette Booysen (a) 79 83, Amy Boulden (WAL) 79 83, Elena Hualde (ESP) 84 78, Gabrielle Macdonald (SCO) 77 85, Maho Hayakawa (JPN) 82 80

163 - Luisa Gudert (GER) 78 85, Marta Martin (ESP) 81 82, Nina Pegova (WHT) 81 82, Genevieve Ling (MAL) 80 83, Cara Gorlei 77 86, Celine Karlung (NOR) 79 84

Missed the cut:-

164 - Lindi Coetzee 78 86, Helen Kreuzer (GER) 81 83, Sara Kjellker (SWE) 84 80, Pranavi Urs (IND) 81 83, Isabella Deilert (SWE) 82 82, Dulcie Sverdloff (ENG) 78 86, Sophie Keech (ENG) 84 80

165 - Michelle Swanepoel 81 84

166 - Katja Pogacar (SVN) 84 82, Corinne Viden (SWE) 86 80, Isabella van Rooyen 83 83, Leticia Ras-Anderica (GER) 84 82, Teresa Diez Moliner (ESP) 85 81

167 - Ivanna Samu 87 80, Karoline Lund (NOR) 85 82

168 - Christina Gloor (SUI) 86 82

169 - Julie Boysen Hillestad (NOR) 87 82, Lejan Lewthwaite 86 83, Julie Berton (FRA) 88 81, Clara Young (SCO) 81 88

170 - Dea Mahendra (INA) 89 81, Katerina Vlasinova (CZE) 88 82, Lora Assad 86 84, Carey Dodds (a) 86 84, Bronwyn Doeg 86 84, Maria Herraez Galvez (ESP) 87 83

171 - Tara Griebenow 86 85, Shawnelle de Lange 88 83, Kelsey Nicholas 88 83

172 - Lenanda van der Watt 84 88, Larissa Du Preez 91 81, Thalia Martin (ENG) 87 85, Florentyna Parker (ENG) 85 87

173 - Tina Mazarino (NOR) 90 83, Sarah Gee (ENG) 88 85

174 - Chante van Zyl 89 85, Georgia Iziemgbe Oboh (NGA) 86 88, Marion Duvernay (FRA) 87 87

175 - Nadia van der Westhuizen 86 89, Victoria Craig (NIR) 86 89

176 - Ridhima Dilawari (IND) 89 87

177 - Woo-Ju Son (KOR) 88 89, Tandi McCallum 89 88, Marta Perez Sanmartin (ESP) 92 85

179 - Martina Flori (ITA) 94 85

180 - Zethu Myeki 90 90

181 - Elena Moosmann (SUI) 90 91

183 - Tara Niewoudt (a) 94 89, Leontine Petit (FRA) 88 95

187 - Kaylan Boshoff 94 93