Kesha Louw Crowned as Champion at the SA Women’s Amateur Stroke Play
Kesha Louw cemented her status as GolfRSA’s number one amateur with a come-from-behind play-off victory in the South African Women’s Amateur Stroke Play Championship, while Mogomotsi Sebata lifted the B-Division title at a rainy and windy PE Golf Club – The Hill, in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, on Tuesday, 25 February 2025.
The 18-year-old kept her head down in conditions that turned downright nasty after nine holes, epitomising the grind needed when the going gets tough.
Lisa Coetzer, who led the first two rounds, succumbed to a devastating stretch immediately after the turn when the bad weather conditions really hit home, while Louw, who honed her game at East London Golf Club since an early age, drew on her experience to make two birdies coming down the stretch to draw level with her fellow GolfRSA National Squad member.
The 14-year-old made a double-bogey on 10, a bogey on 11 and another double-bogey on 12. Those scores obliterated the great advantage she had built up on the front nine when she had made an eagle, two birdies and a bogey to lead by seven heading for home.
Suddenly, Louw was within two and, after Coetzer bogeyed 15, the gap was just one. Louw birdied 16 to draw level, and they both tied on six-under 210 after closing birdies to set up the play-off.
“I was one-over after the first nine holes. I made one bogey, and my putts were all lipping out, and my putter was cold on the front nine. I was also a bit nervous, starting off a bit shaky. She (Louw) started birdie-par-eagle. She holed out from about 120 on three, and that was a great shot. I just thought I had to play my own game, and not stress about her game. I just focused on one shot at a time.”
“On the back nine, it started pouring with rain. I normally play well in this kind of weather, and I’m used to the wind as well. I hit those very low drives. I don’t have any height on them and that gets them quite a bit of roll. From the 10th, I just kept on making pars. She went double-bogey-double, and I thought I could catch up now and keep on fighting. With the wind and the weather, it was very stressful as well, just trying to keep dry the whole time. I managed to keep on going.”
2025 South African Women’s Amateur Stroke Play Championship, Kesha Louw
“On the last hole, I had to double-check the scores. I wasn’t sure if she was ahead or if I was ahead. Turned out we were all square. She went for the green and I was just short. I hit my best drive, and I still had 200 metres. I hit three-wood, and my putt from the fringe was a bit short. I left it about a metre and a half, and managed sink it and headed back to the 18th for the play-off”
The leading pair had left the rest of the field behind them. Lourenda Steyn was third on one-under after her closing level-par 72, Casey Twidale fourth on level-par with her final round of 73, and Charlotte Millard fifth on three-over after she also closed with a level-par 72.
Both main protagonists hit their drives into the left rough. “I was very stressed out going onto the tee for the first play-off hole,” said Louw.
“I told myself to relax because I had done so well, really. I just wanted to enjoy it and just keep things steady. I was in the rough for my second shot, but I had a good lie and took my seven-wood, my favourite club. I hit it just over the bunker and managed to chip and putt for par.”
Coetzer, who was just short of the green in front of the bunker, also had a chipping and putting chance, but she chipped to above the hole and left herself a slippery downhill 10-footer which she simply overcooked.
For Louw, the victory was both vindication of the strategy of keeping the errors to a minimum as well as the realisation of a lifelong dream.
“It’s always been my dream to win this, and last night I was just thinking that I have really wanted this for a long time! I’ve been working hard although the last few tournaments haven’t been the best results for me. To finish it off like this makes me really happy.”
Overnight leader Sebata lifted the Abe Bailey Trophy for players with handicaps from 6.6 to 15.3, after the B.Sc. Applied Mathematics and Statistics student closed with a 14-over-par 86 and cemented a four-stroke victory over Mexico’s Ana Catarina Weber Albaitero, who had a closing 87.
Gemma Huxham finished third with her closing 87 leaving her just one stroke behind the Mexican.
In 2022, Sebata’s little sister Phenyo won the B-Division of the Nomads SA Girls Championship, but now Mogomotsi says she has the bragging rights in the family.
“I’ve played this event four times before, but to be very honest, I just played for the experience. This year I came with the intention to win. From the first hole, that was all I could think about. It feels amazing to have pulled it through.”
2025 Abe Bailey Trophy Champion, Mogomotsi Sebata
With the stroke play out of the way, Louw and the other players in the top 64 now fight it out for the South African Amateur Championship over three days of match play.
Louw will face South African Golf Development Board graduate and coach Lucia Mhlabane from Mpumalanga in the first round in the Championship Division, while Sebata takes on Odette Booysen from Western Province in the Flight Division.
“Match play is a different story,” says Louw. “Now I can attack more and go for every pin and know that it will be fine if I make a mistake, whereas the stroke play was more conservative.”
Final Round Scores at the 2025 South African Women’s Stroke Play Championship in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, on Tuesday, 25 February, 2025
210 Kesha Louw 68 71 71 (first play-off hole)
210 Lisa Coetzer 66 70 74
215 Lourenda Steyn 73 70 72
216 Casey Twidale 71 72 73
219 Charlotte Millard 72 75 72
220 Bobbi Brown 70 74 76
223 Kaylee Webster 78 75 70; Olivia Tait 76 73 74; Kaitlyn van de Vyver 72 73 78; Isabella Ferreira 69 75 79
224 Olivia Wood 73 70 81
225 Kamaya Moodliar 74 77 74; Gia Raad 73 74 78
226 Maegan Webster 79 74 73
227 Phenyo Sebata 76 78 73; Jaime Meth 72 79 76; Shannon Butler 73 76 78
228 Zané Kleynhans 81 74 73
229 Lee-ann van der Merwe 76 76 77
230 Jasmine Furstenburg 76 75 79
231 Megan Marais 77 77 77
232 Zayaan Hendricks 78 79 75; Sandra Winter 74 81 77; Zané Fourie 73 80 79; Louise Krawiec FRA 77 75 80; Alieke van Zyl 75 74 83
233 Valentina Sakota ITA 80 75 78
234 Bea Breedt 82 76 76; Yixuan Mu TPE 80 78 76
236 Holly Erler 78 81 77
237 Alexis Toriani 76 83 78; Lucia Mhlabane 79 78 80
238 Isabella Obray 80 80 78; Ame van der Merwe 79 80 79; Tess Samuels 78 79 81
239 Jaden Visagie 79 83 77
240 Tze Ning Chang CHI 79 84 77; Erin Brinkman 80 82 78; Amy Stanton 79 82 79; Maryam Mwakitawa 77 80 83
241 Odette Booysen 82 80 79; Cendra Carroll 81 80 80
243 Lea van der Merwe 84 78 81
245 Lonique Jansen van Vuuren 83 77 85
246 Lara van Niekerk 75 83 88; Monique Fourie 76 82 88
248 Paola Sakota ITA 87 81 80; Zoey Rhoda 84 79 85
249 Keisha Wiltshire UGA 82 81 86
250 Shivania Kalimuthu 85 79 86
251 Staceylee van Gent 83 87 81; Danielle Chong 85 79 87
252 Isabella Han 85 86 81; Maru Chokwe BOT 90 80 82; Kyla van der Merwe 82 82 88
253 Ashley Huysamen 89 77 87; Ellandri van Heerden 83 81 89
256 Simoné Kleyn 89 85 82; Danielle Meiring 86 86 84
260 Natasha Murray 87 85 88
261 Bev Button 89 87 85
276 Caitlen van Heerden 92 91 93
WD Lisakhanya Payiya 94 85 WD
WD Alessia Goussard 81 WD
Abe Bailey Trophy (B-Division)
253 Mogomotsi Sebata 85 82 86
257 Ana Catarina Weber Albaitero MEX 86 84 87
258 Gemma Huxham 86 85 87
259 Navya Nagda KEN 83 89 87
262 Chantaylee Visser 88 82 92; Christan Booysen 85 83 94
267 Rochante Coenraad 89 86 92
270 Ana-Maria Firer 88 90 92
277 Aminah Hendricks 92 92 93
Second Round Scores on Monday, 24 February, 2025
136 Lisa Coetzer 66 70
139 Kesha Louw 68 71
143 Olivia Wood 73 70; Lourenda Steyn 73 70; Casey Twidale 71 72
144 Bobbi Brown 70 74; Isabella Ferreira 69 75
145 Kaitlyn van de Vyver 72 73
147 Gia Raad 73 74; Charlotte Millard 72 75
149 Olivia Tait 76 73; Alieke van Zyl 75 74; Shannon Butler 73 76
151 Jasmine Furstenburg 76 75; Kamaya Moodliar 74 77; Jaime Meth 72 79
152 Louise Krawiec 77 75 FRA; Lee-ann van der Merwe 76 76
153 Maegan Webster 79 74; Kaylee Webster 78 75; Zané Fourie 73 80
154 Megan Marais 77 77; Phenyo Sebata 76 78
155 Zané Kleynhans 81 74; Valentina Sakota ITA 80 75; Sandra Winter 74 81
157 Lucia Mhlabane 79 78; Tess Samuels ENG 78 79; Zayaan Hendricks 78 79; Maryam Mwakitawa KEN 77 80
158 Bea Breedt 82 76; Yixuan Mu CHI 80 78; Monique Fourie 76 82; Lara van Niekerk 75 83
159 Ame van der Merwe 79 80; Holly Erler 78 81; Alexis Toriani 76 83
160 Lonique Jansen van Vuuren 83 77; Isabella Obray 80 80
161 Cendra Carroll 81 80; Amy Stanton 79 82
162 Lea van der Merwe 84 78; Odette Booysen 82 80; Erin Brinkman 80 82; Jaden Visagie 79 83
163 Zoey Rhoda 84 79; Keisha Wiltshire UGA 82 81; Tze Ning Chang TPE 79 84
164 Shivania Kalimuthu 85 79; Danielle Chong 85 79; Ellandri van Heerden 83 81; Kyla van der Merwe 82 82
166 Ashley Huysamen 89 77
168 Paola Sakota 87 81
170 Maru Chokwe BOT 90 80; Staceylee van Gent 83 87
171 Isabella Han 85 86
172 Natasha Murray 87 85; Danielle Meiring 86 86
174 Simoné Kleyn 89 85
176 Bev Button 89 87
179 Lisakhanya Payiya 94 85
183 Caitlen van Heerden 92 91
WD Alessia Goussard 81 WD
Abe Bailey Trophy (B-Division)
167 Mogomotsi Sebata 85 82
168 Christan Booysen 85 83
170 Chantaylee Visser 88 82; Ana Catarina Albaitero MEX 86 84
171 Gemma Huxham 86 85
172 Navya Nagda KEN 83 89
175 Rochante Coenraad 89 86
178 Ana-Maria Firer 88 90
184 Aminah Hendricks 92 92
First Round Scores on Sunday, 23 February, 2025
66 Lisa Coetzer
68 Kesha Louw
69 Isabella Ferreira
70 Bobbi Brown
71 Casey Twidale
72 Kaitlyn van de Vyver; Charlotte Millard; Jaime Meth
73 Shannon Butler; Zané Fourie; Gia Raad; Olivia Wood; Lourenda Steyn
74 Sandra Winter; Kamaya Moodliar
75 Alieke van Zyl; Lara van Niekerk
76 Phenyo Sebata; Monique Fourie; Jasmine Furstenburg; Olivia Tait; Lee-ann van der Merwe; Alexis Toriani
77 Megan Marais; Maryam Mwakitawa KEN; Louise Krawiec FRA
78 Zayaan Hendricks; Kaylee Webster; Tess Samuels ENG; Holly Erler
79 Ame van der Merwe; Maegan Webster; Amy Stanton; Lucia Mhlabane; Tze Ning Chang; Jaden Visagie
80 Isabella Obray; Valentina Sakota; Erin Brinkman; Yixuan Mu
81 Cendra Carroll; Zané Kleynhans; Alessia Goussard
82 Bea Breedt; Odette Booysen; Keisha Wiltshire UGA; Kyla van der Merwe
83 Staceylee van Gent; Ellandri van Heerden; Lonique Jansen van Vuuren
84 Lea van der Merwe; Zoey Rhoda
85 Isabella Han; Danielle Chong; Shivania Kalimuthu
86 Danielle Meiring
87 Natasha Murray; Paola Sakota
89 Simoné Kleyn; Bev Button; Ashley Huysamen
90 Maru Chokwe BOT
92 Caitlen van Heerden
94 Lisakhanya Payiya
Abe Bailey Trophy (B-Division)
83 Navya Nagda KEN
85 Christan Booysen; Mogomotsi Sebata
86 Gemma Huxham; Ana Albaitero
88 Chantaylee Visser; Ana-Maria Firer
89 Rochante Coenraad
92 Aminah Hendricks
* All competitors RSA unless otherwise specified
Original Copy: GolfRSA, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: Kesha Louw cemented her status as GolfRSA’s number one amateur with a come-from-behind play-off victory in the South African Women’s Amateur Stroke Play Championship, while Mogomotsi Sebata lifted the B-Division title at a rainy and windy PE Golf Club – The Hill, in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, on Tuesday, 25 February 2025. All Photos: GolfRSA
Photo 2 Caption: Louw, who honed her game at East London Golf Club since an early age, drew on her experience to make two birdies coming down the stretch to draw level with her fellow GolfRSA National Squad member, Lisa Coetzer.
Photo 3 Caption: Overnight leader Sebata lifted the Abe Bailey Trophy for players with handicaps from 6.6 to 15.3, after the she closed with a 14-over-par 86 and cemented a four-stroke victory over Mexico’s Ana Catarina Weber Albaitero, who had a closing 87.
Crédito: Link de origem