De Roey cruises to four-shot win in South Africa

Belgium’s Manon De Roey secured the Second Ladies European Tour title of her career after she cruised to a four-shot victory at the Investec SA Women’s Open.

Leading by three shots before the start of final round, the 32-year-old held her nerve in windy conditions at at Erinvale Golf & Country Estate carding an even-par 70 to add to the Aramco Team Series event she won in Bangkok in 2022.

Playing alongside Morocco’s Ines Laklalech and Sweden’s Lisa Pettersson, De Roey got off to a steady start as her playing partners dropped shots early on carding six pars in a row. As New Zealand’s Momoka Kobori made a move elsewhere, De Roey carded her first birdie of the day on the par-5 7th before dropping a shot after missing the green on the par-3 8th.

The one-time Olympian bounced back immediately thanks to a clutch birdie in front of the clubhouse on the 9th – one which took her lead to five as Pettersson and Laklalech found trouble on the same hole.

As victory loomed, De Roey would make eight straight pars in a row before dropping a shot on the 18th after three-putting the par-4.

Tapping in the bogey for a four-shot victory, De Roey was showered in champagne by Austria’s Christine Wolf and English trio Ellie Givens, Liz Young and Hannah Burke.

In second place on 10-under par finished Kobori and England’s Gabriella Cowley. The latter carded a round of 70 to also claim the Sunshine Ladies Tour Order of Merit.