The partial decline of the Ladies European Tour (LET) may be bad news for the golfers involved but there is a positive side-effect for South Africa.
Having no opportunities to tee it up in Europe in March and April, 19 Scandinavians and three Irish proettes have been in South Africa for the past month competing on what can only be described as a very successful Nedbank Ladies Professional Golf Tour (NLPGT) - and certainly adding a touch of glamour to it.
Due to a lack of sponsors, it looks as if there will be as few as 11 events in Europe this year (compared to well over 40 for the men).
"So coming out to South Africa made sense, especially for us Scandinavians," said big-hitting Norwegian golfer Cecilie Lundgreen yesterday on the eve of the 54-hole Nedbank Ladies SA Masters beginning at Houghton on Friday.
"We can't play back home because it's too cold and, besides, there aren't any tournaments anywhere in Europe.
"Here in South Africa there is good weather, good golf courses, four well-run events, some strong competition and lots of fun for us so it's a perfect way to warm up for Europe," added the tall, blonde Lundgreen who was 28th on the LET Order of Merit in 2001.
"Most of the girls who have come out this year say they want to come back next year so this is great news for South Africa," says Tour director Tania Fourie.
The Nedbank SA Masters, with a purse of R125 000, brings South Africa's tour to a close - with the first round this morning, the second tomorrow morning and the third and final round from about midday on Friday.
Top Scandinavians in the field include Lundgreen, Finnish No 1 Rikka Hakkarainen who captured last week's Telkom Ladies Classic at Randpark, Denmark's Amanda Moltke-Leth, and 14 Swedes among them Maria Boden, who won eight college events in the US while attending Oklahoma State University.
South Africa's Many Adamson, however, tops the NLPGT Order of Merit after winning the first two events on tour.
The multi-talented Adamson is an artist and acrylic painter in her spare time.
She has held two exhibitions of her work, and recently sold some of her paintings in London.