The influx of international golfers on the Sunshine Ladies Tour is making it harder for South Africa’s women professionals to contend at home, but it’s a challenge that Lee-Anne Pace has welcomed.

The 2024 Sunshine Ladies Tour tees off its season at Fancourt this week with the R2.5 million Dimension Data Pro-Am on the Montagu and Outeniqua courses. The 54-hole tournament is played concurrently with the men’s Sunshine Tour’s Dimension Data Pro-Am.

The growth of the Sunshine Ladies Tour is reflected in the overwhelming international contingent competing this week.

“It’s nice to see the overseas support of the Sunshine Ladies Tour. It has grown a lot, but we are now finding it harder to win at home,” Pace said with a chuckle on the eve of Friday’s first round.

Of the 44 professionals in the field this week, 28 are from overseas.

“There’s a really strong overseas contingent coming to play and the fields on the Sunshine Ladies Tour seem to get stronger every week,” said Pace, who won this tournament in 2016 and finished second in a playoff in 2021.

“It’s a really good field this week and I think the scores are going to be quite a lot lower than last year. The courses are a bit softer than usual, and on the shorter side, so we can attack a little bit more. I think there are going to be a lot of birdies and as always, it’s going to come down to putting.”

Even though it is the start of the South African season, Pace is one of the players to bring some form into the event having finished in a tie for 11th at last weekend’s Magical Kenya Ladies Open, the first event of the new Ladies European Tour (LET) season.

“I felt really good on the last day and played really nicely for a 68, so I feel I do have a bit of form on my side,” Pace said.

Compatriot Cara Gorlei also finished in a tie for 11th and was leading the tournament before a 77 in the third round pushed her down the leaderboard.

This week’s field also includes France’s Anne-Lise Caudal, a two-time LET winner who finished second in last year’s Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am, Germany’s Carolin Kauffmann, who finished fifth in last year’s Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am, and Englishwoman Lauren Taylor, who has two top-10 finishes in this event.

South Africa’s challenge includes former champions Stacy Bregman and Lejan Lewthwaite.

Issued by Michael Vlismas Media