CAPE TOWN – As the oldest golf club in South Africa, Royal Cape has seen it all. But on Thursday 23 April it experienced a first as Germany’s Patricia Schmidt carded her lowest round on the Ladies European Tour of 10-under-par 63 to lead the Investec South African Women’s Open.
 
Schmidt’s round of eight birdies and an eagle earned her a two-stroke lead over Denmark’s Smilla Tarning Soenderby and Slovenia’s Pia Babnik in this Sunshine Ladies Tour and Ladies European Tour co-sanctioned event.
 
France’s Agathe Laisne, the winner of last week’s Joburg Ladies Open, came through the opening round five strokes off the lead.

Casandra Alexander and rookie Caitlin Macnab are the leading South Africans following their rounds of three-under-par 70, while amateur Lisa Coetzer made a solid start with her round of two under par.

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Good short game

As she walked out of score recording, a few Royal Cape members applauded Schmidt for a remarkable round of golf. But while they were well aware of the magic she was making on their fairways, Schmidt was so focused she was almost oblivious to it.

“Honestly, I didn’t even know I’d shot 10 under until I got a high five on the last hole,” said Schmidt.

It was a round that was anchored in a sublime short game. “I wouldn’t say it was the greatest round off the tee box, but my whole approach game and my recovery game was just really good,” she said.

“It was just one of those days where you stand behind a putt and read it and just clearly see the line. It’s the type of feeling you look for but which is really hard to find. Today it was just there for my putting.”

Consistency and recovery 

The former physics student and mechanical engineering graduate has clearly applied her mind to the game of golf, and in particular her putting, and came up with an approach which worked for her on Thursday.

“I think it’s just trusting the feeling and not overcomplicating it. I just tried to do that the whole round and not want to hole the putt so badly that I overcomplicate it. But rather to keep a fast routine, focus on a good rhythm, give it a chance and see if the putt drops,” Schmidt pointed out.

As much as her short game stood out, so did her recoveries from these tree-lined fairways.

“What has helped me this year is my consistency. Even though I’ve not hit every fairway, the misses I have are way smaller,” Schmidt related. “So if I need to make a recovery I’ve managed to save par, which I’ve done way better now compared to last year.”

Top-10 leaderboard after first round:

• 63 – Patricia Isabel Schmidt (GER)
• 65 – Smilla Tarning Soenderby (DEN)
• 65 – Pia Babnik (SVN)
• 66 – Alessia Nobilio (ITA)
• 66 – Emma Spitz (AUT), Esme Hamilton (ENG), Emma Grechi (FRA)
• 67 – Cara Gainer (ENG)
• 67 – Anna Morgan (USA), Brianna Navarrosa (USA)
• 68 – Meghan MacLaren (ENG)
• 68 – Agathe Laisne (FRA), Fernanda Lira (MEX), Alice Hewson (ENG), Diksha Dagar (IND), Amy Lee (USA)
• 69 – Lydia Hall (WAL)