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Raad gunning for SA Women’s Amateur double

football27 February 2025 20:14
By:Lali Stander
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Gia Raad © GolfRSA

Gia Raad has set herself up for a shot at winning a second consecutive South African Women’s Amateur Championship as she played her way into the final with a pair of impressive victories in the quarterfinals and semifinals on Thursday at PE Golf Club – The Hill.

She got into the final with a comprehensive 5&3 win over GolfRSA No 1 and newly-crowned SA Women’s Stroke Play champion Kesha Louw after she had beaten Megan Marais 2&1 in the quarterfinal earlier in the day.

“I started really hot on the front nine, and I made four birdies in a row,” said Raad of her opening run which saw her stretch out to a three-hole lead after playing five.

“I told myself I could finish it early. But I started hitting some really bad shots.”

Louw took advantage of that and pulled things back to just 1-down at the turn.

“I think my mind was really pretty good,” said Raad, who picked up wins on 10, 12, 13 and 15 to stretch away from Louw.

“I was pretty consistent throughout the round, even though I was hitting those bad shots, when the wind picked up. But the putter was hot today, so that was a big help. One of those bad holes came on the sixth, when I had about 125 in. I don’t know what happened, but the wind picked up and I was completely unsure standing over it. I completely lost it, and I was about 20 metres left. But that was one bad hole, so I tried to move on.

“Coming down the stretch, Kesha was definitely not making mistakes; I just tried to play my own game and play the course and not her. I managed to hit some really good putts so that helped.”

She will be up against Lisa Coetzer in the final, after the 14-year-old exceeded her previous best performance of the round of 16.

Coetzer beat Kaylee Webster 1-up in the morning quarterfinal and then battled her way past Lourenda Steyn in a tight-semifinal 4&2.

“I feel really good that I’ve accomplished this,” said Coetzer, who bounced back remarkably after losing the SA Women’s Stroke Play title to Louw in a play-off.

“My goal was just to get through the round of 16 and I’ve made it to the final, which I’m really excited about. After last year, when I was overawed by my opponents, I’ve found that if I just stay calm, it will get in their head even more. Even if I hit a bad shot, I’m just going to walk it off, because I can always up-and-down, and they’ll make a mistake soon enough. Over the year, I’ve worked on it with my sports psychologist so much, that it’s just got so much better.”

Coetzer and Steyn traded the lead on three occasions on the front nine.

“I was 1-up through nine holes, and I just decided that I need to go more directly for the pins, because I needed to get up as soon as I could so I could rest for the final,” she said.

“Other than that, my putts dropped. My putt on 15, that was about 15 feet for birdie. I went left edge, and it went in. On 16, I can’t even describe what I was feeling there, because I just wanted to lag it up close. I managed to get the right speed and line, and it went in.”

For Raad, experience is going to be important for the final. “I think I’m not going to focus on Lisa too much in the final,” she said.

“I’m going to stick to how I’ve been playing these last two days. It’s a long day, so I’m going to try and maintain my good attitude.”

OBRAY, SAMUELS TO VIE FOR FLIGHT HONOURS

In the Flight final, Eastern Province’s Isabella Obray will meet Tess Samuels of England.

Obray, who plays out of St Francis Links, beat Odette Booysen 1-up in the quarterfinal, and got past Lonique Jansen van Vuuren 3&2 in the semifinal.

“This is the furthest I’ve ever progressed,” she said. “This last match was so difficult. I got 3-up quite quickly, and moved to 4-up after nine holes, but she won the ninth which really got to me. She hit a nice drive on 10 and she won that to pull it back to 3-up and I got concerned. She was right in it and ready to pounce if I made one mistake.”

Despite those fears, she appeared calm. “I might not show the pressure, but I am feeling it,” she said. “I do get really nervous. For example, all I needed to do was halve the last hole and I would have won. But I got a bit pressured and missed the putt. But it’s fine now.

“It feels amazing to be in the final. I’ve never been in a final before. I’ve learnt to manage things around the course a lot. I also think putting is really important. I struggled with that in the stroke play, but today and yesterday, my putting was really good and that really did save me.”

For Samuels, it’s something of a homecoming.

The 14-year-old was actually born and bred in South Africa and grew up in Kroonstad.

The family emigrated to England three years ago and she is a now member of the England Golf Squad.

She beat Lea van der Merwe 3&2 in the quarterfinal and got past Ame van der Merwe 4&3 in the semifinal.

It was her incredibly accurate short game which caught the eye as Samuels marched to the final.

“We came to the club about a month ago to see the course. To sharpen my short game for match play, my coach had me measure out 10 feet, 20 feet, 30 feet and 40 feet and then I practiced those shots over and over to get the ball as close as I can.”

The semifinal was evidence that the drill worked, and she will take confidence from that into the final with Obray.

© GolfRSA

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