MBABANE – Eswatini professional golfer Nobuhle Dlamini has enjoyed a dream start to the Standard Bank Ladies Open following her impressive opening score of one-under-par 71 in the third tournament of the season on the Sunshine Ladies Tour.
The prestigious event is being staged at the Durbanville Golf Club in Cape Town. Played over three days from March 5 to 7, 2026, the 54-hole stroke play tournament features a competitive field of over 120 golfers.
The players are battling it out for a significant R1 million prize fund, reflecting the growing stature of the women’s professional game.
Following the opening round on Thursday, Sunshine Ladies Tour rookie Kaylah Williams leads the pack after carding a brilliant seven-under-par 65. Dlamini currently sits in a strong position, tied for seventh place, just six shots off the lead and level with South African legend Lee-Anne Pace.
This dream start, in Cape Town, follows a steady opening to the 2026 season for Dlamini. She entered this week’s event looking to climb the Order of Merit after two solid but challenging outings in February.
In the season-opener, the SuperSport Ladies Challenge at Hummewood Golf Club, Dlamini showed great grit in the coastal winds to secure a respectable finish. She followed that up with a trip to Fancourt for the newly rebranded NTT DATA Ladies Pro-Am, formerly the Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am.
In that second tournament, Dlamini faced a tough field and technical conditions on the Montagu and Outeniqua courses, ultimately finishing in 25th place. While she was a former champion of the event during its DiData era, the 2026 edition proved a stern test of patience.
However, having shaken off the rust in those first two events, Dlamini’s opening 71 at Durbanville suggests she is finding her peak at exactly the right time. With 36 holes left to play, the Eswatini star remains a serious contender to watch as the leaderboard takes shape this weekend.
Leave a comment