South Africa’s Casandra Alexander heads into Thursday’s first round of the Joburg Ladies Open hoping to unlock two secrets at the moment – the secret to Modderfontein Golf Club, and the greater secret of how to turn three seasons of remarkable Sunshine Ladies Tour consistency into an overall Investec Order of Merit triumph.

With a victory on the Sunshine Ladies Tour this season already in the Absa Ladies Invitational, Alexander is looking for that step up this week in a Joburg Ladies Open that has brought the top professionals from the Ladies European Tour – including golfers from 37 countries and with 24 winners on the Ladies European Tour – to these fairways for the first of two weeks of co-sanctioned golf in South Africa.

“I’m excited for the week, even though I haven’t figured out this golf course yet,” Alexander said after her practice round on Wednesday ahead of a tournament she won in 2021.

“I used to come out to this golf course a lot with school golf and play nine holes. I also had a lot of friends around here and we played together. So I have experience of this golf course but I still haven’t figured out the secret just yet. But this tournament has grown from strength to strength every year and I look forward to a long future with the Joburg Ladies Open.”

Figuring out the secret to Modderfontein Golf Club this week will most likely lead Alexander to her next goal – winning the overall Investec Order of Merit title. Alexander has finished in the top three on the Investec Order of Merit for the past three seasons. She currently sits in seventh place with two tournaments to go. But with these last two events both co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour and carrying greater points, a victory would give her a very strong shot at that overall title.

“I thought last year I could finally win it but obviously the co-sanctioned events carry much more points and Lily (England’s Lily May Humphries, the winner of the 2023 Joburg Ladies Open) won it last year. It’s definitely on my list of goals, and winning and playing well will take care of that. You never know what happens in these last two events.”

Alexander is also prepared for the international challenge this week brings.

“It’s definitely a step up with the Ladies European Tour golfers here. They’re some of the best women golfers in the world. The Sunshine Ladies Tour professionals maybe have a slight advantage knowing the golf course and also how far the ball travels here. But the co-sanctioned events are much tougher. If you look at the winner’s of the co-sanctioned events of past couple of years they’re not all South Africans, and if they are they’re pretty prestigious South Africans. I think it will be a great challenge.”

Issued by Michael Vlismas Media

Photo by Tyrone Winfield/Sunshine Tour