Alexander takes revenge on Glendower with Jabra Ladies Open victory

Feb 24, 2023 | Featured, Sunshine Ladies Tour

Casandra Alexander exacted her revenge on the Glendower Golf Club course on Friday as she carded a six-under-par 66 to scythe through field for a one-stroke victory in the Sunshine Ladies Tour’s Jabra Ladies Open.

Alexander took her second title of the Sunshine Ladies Tour 2023 season after winning the opening event, and moved to the top of the Investec Order of Merit as her bogey-free round took her to 14-under-par. That was one clear of the woman who led for the first two rounds, Mireia Prat of Spain, as South Africa’s Kaleigh Telfer finished third on 12-under-par.

“The highlight of the day for me was actually the first hole,” said Alexander. “I hit it in the front bunker, the same place as in the second round where I made double. This time, I hit a really good bunker shot, made the putt for par and I felt it was a sign to get going. That got my confidence up after an under-pressure first hole, because it got me straight into the focus mode.”

Alexander was not at all happy with her efforts in the second round. “I struggled. I made a lot of birdies, but I dropped a lot of shots. I mean, I made double on the first hole and it was a fight from there and then I finished with two drops. I felt the course owed me after that.

“I knew a low round could do it. I was hoping for an eight-under – I actually used a Titleist 8 ball because of that. I just thought to myself I was going to keep it really tidy. I knew I was three shots behind but if I could get to three-under as quickly as possible, then I would feel I was level with the lead and I could get going from there. Today’s 66 was really good – it felt like an eight-under. With no drops, you feel like the birdies really count.”

She made the three birdies she needed by the time she reached the sixth, and Prat only one-under at that point, it was game on. The Spaniard didn’t pick up another shot until the 12th, while Alexander had made two more at that stage to draw level.

The birdie Alexander made on 13 saw her hit the front. “I didn’t hit that fairway the whole week as I missed it right,” she said. “Today I hit the fairway and I pumped one up there 290, and I had an eight-iron in, two puts for a tap-in birdie.”

Although Prat levelled things up with a birdie of her own on the 15th, she dropped again on the final hole as Alexander held her nerve down the stretch. “It was good to keep it steady on 17 and 18, as they make for a tough finish,” said Alexander.

Telfer finished her tournament with a five-under-pa 67, and that lifted her two shots clear of Denmark’s Smilla Tarning Soenderby, who was on 10-under. Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am winnder Moa Folke of Sweden was fifth on nine-under after she closed with a level-par 72.

For Alexander, the win settled the beef she felt she had with Glendower after her opening 66. “It wasn’t a particularly good 66 on the first day,” she said. “The course was there for the taking, and I felt it was very average.”

“From the beginning this morning, I felt if I could get a low one in, I could maybe stand a chance. Things went my way, and a couple of putts dropped.”

With the final two events of the 2023 season, the Joburg Ladies Open and the Investec South African Women’s Open, ahead of her, Alexander is sitting pretty with great form on her side.

 

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