East London’s Yolanda Duma credited a consistent practice regime coupled with unwavering determination and patience after she battled to a round of 73 which handed her a two-stroke victory in the Standard Bank Pro-Am Series event that was held at Eagle Canyon on Thursday.
Coming into this sixth event of the seven-tournament Standard Bank Pro-Am Series at the back of a tough tournament in Houghton where she placed 22nd, Duma knew the work that awaited her at the windy Eagle Canyon.
“It feels really great to get it done,” she said after her win, “it feels like my hard work is paying off because I started practising and working hard on my game and this win shows that the hard work is starting to pay off.
“The tournament was great but, as I said, it was very windy today and you had to battle hard. I am happy that I managed to sink some birdies and get a great score.”
The East London Golf Club player, who also teaches golf, has been an ever-present figure on the series, playing in all six tournaments so far. While she has found the going tough in a couple of those events, Duma maintains that with the work she has been putting in, something was always going to give and her victory in Roodepoort proves just that.
“I have been working hard on a few aspects of my game,” she added, “and I knew that if I stay patient and just focus on my game, something will come. A win like this, under tough conditions, does a lot to help the confidence going forward, so I’m very happy with the way I have been playing.”
Three-time winner, Ivanna Samu’s three-over 75 was enough to earn her a runners-up finish, a result that will see her maintain her spot atop the Order of Merit standings after a very dominant season. Taking the third spot on the final leaderboard was Tandi McCallum after she signed for a 76. Brittney-Fay Berger finished fourth after a round of 79 and the quartet of Zethu Myeki, Tara Griebenow, Lenanda van der Watt and Francesca Cuturi tied fifth.
The next event, the last of the regular schedule, is to be played at Silverlakes on October 7, before the finale, the Standard Bank Pro-Am Invitational is played at Randpark Golf Club from 25-26 of the same month.
