Tandi McCallum says her Standard Bank Pro-Am series win at Serengeti Golf Estates on Thursday was long overdue and now that she’s gotten a taste of what it feels like to win again, she intends to contend for a win at each of the remaining tournaments in the series.
McCallum’s final round of 73 combined with her opening 67 was enough to earn her a two-shot victory over Lindi Coetzee who won the first event at Glendower, and Nadia van der Westhuizen who is a member at Serengeti.
“I’m quite happy to finally get it done,” said McCallum. “I’m now looking forward to all of the events because now, I think, once you’ve had a taste of the win, you want more.”
She’s come close to winning a few times on this Series and her victory was nothing short of spectacular as both Coetzee and Van der Westhuizen were fighting hard. And having lost out a few times before, McCallum knew that any mistakes in the final round on Friday would be costly.
“I stayed really calm out there,” she recalled. “And I just used a conversation with my playing partners to try and distract myself, and I also had my close friend Neil Homan on the bag and he was instrumental too. I tried to block out thoughts of how much I wanted to win but then towards the end, it’s in your face. You can’t avoid it and it becomes a matter of trying to control the nerves.
“But this win is huge for me – from the point of view that I played a long time in Europe and I got into a play-off a couple of times but didn’t win and got a bunch of second places. I’ve had a lot of second places on the Sunshine Ladies Tour and two wins and I’ve been knocking on the door for so many years. A lot of the girls here call me a veteran because, they say, I’ve been around a long time.
“But I don’t feel like I’ve converted as many of the opportunities that I’ve had, into wins, so it’s great to still be able to compete at the age of 36. I still have a lot of good golf in me and I think now that I’ve had this breakthrough, I can go for more and show the younger girls that I can still play.”
Despite having to fend off the chasing pack – led by Coetzee and Van der Westhuizen – McCallum was just as impressed with their effort, particularly Van der Westhuizen.
“It was tough out there and it’s a relief to finally get that breakthrough,” she said, “Nadia was playing really well and she put up a strong fight towards the end. It was exciting overall.”
McCallum becomes the third first-time winner on this series this season, following in the footsteps of Coetzee and Royal Cape Golf Club’s Isabella van Rooyen who claimed victory at Atlantic Beach Links last month.
