Staff WriterThe ABSA Ladies Invitational opened at Royal Johannesburg on Thursday with the sort of drama golf does so well when it is feeling mischievous. Chinese Taipei rookie Doris Chen played her way to seven under par through 17 holes, only for lightning and heavy rain to pull the handbrake on what had been a sparkling first round.
She was one shot clear when play was suspended, and deserved every inch of it. Eight birdies and just one bogey will brighten any scorecard, but this was more than neat arithmetic.
It was bold, composed golf from a player still finding her feet on the Sunshine Ladies Tour and showing no interest in behaving like a rookie.
Chen makes the early running
Chen’s round had real momentum to it. She picked off birdies with the sort of calm efficiency that makes a golf course look smaller than it is, and at no stage did she appear rattled by the stop-start tension that can build when weather begins to close in.
At seven under with one hole left in her opening round, she sits in the strongest position on the course. In ordinary conditions that would have been impressive enough. In a round cut short by lightning and downpours, it felt even more significant.
The leaderboard at the ABSA Ladies Invitational may still have a temporary look to it, but Chen has already planted a firm flag.
Nuutinen posts the clubhouse target
Finland’s Sanna Nuutinen did manage to finish, and her round of 66 gave the field a proper number to stare at. In interrupted tournaments, that matters. A completed score in the clubhouse can feel like a coat hook in a hurricane. Everyone else is still scrambling around in the wind, while you have at least hung something solid on the board.
Nuutinen’s 66 left her one behind Chen when play was called, and that gives Friday morning a sharp edge. She knows exactly where she stands. She also knows the lead may yet change shape once the unfinished rounds are completed.
Still, there is value in being done and dry while others are left to sleep on a few closing holes.
Rothman rides the rollercoaster
South Africa’s Jordan Rothman produced the most colourful card of the leading trio, and by some distance. Her opening round began with an eagle at the par-five first, which is the golfing equivalent of arriving at a dinner party with fireworks.
There was a bogey on the sixth to dull the shine slightly, but she responded with a birdie at the eighth to reach the turn in two under. Then came a back nine with all the subtlety of a loose shopping trolley on a hill: another eagle, four birdies and two bogeys over eight holes.
It was untidy in places, electric in others, and very nearly enough to catch Chen. Through 17 holes, Rothman was one back and very much part of the story.
Her form suggested this was no ambush. A tie for third at last week’s Platinum Ladies Open had already hinted that her game was beginning to warm nicely, and she carried that confidence straight into Royal Johannesburg.
A tournament paused, not quietened
Weather delays can drain the life out of a tournament, but this one has done the opposite. The ABSA Ladies Invitational already has a compelling shape to it.
You have Chen, the rookie leader, poised to finish what could become one of the rounds of the season. You have Nuutinen safely in at 66, applying pressure without needing to hit another shot overnight. And you have Rothman, the home hope, charging along with enough volatility to make anything seem possible.
Then there is defending champion Thalia Martin, who barely had time to loosen the shoulders before the day was brought to a halt. The Englishwoman completed just one hole before the siren sounded on proceedings, leaving her title defence effectively still wrapped in the packaging.
That adds another layer for Friday. The leaderboard is live, but incomplete. The round has started, but not settled.
What Friday now looks like
Round one will resume at 07h00 on Friday, with round two not beginning before 11h00. That means players and officials face one of those fiddly tournament mornings that require patience, umbrellas and a good deal of logistical grace.
For the contenders, the task is simple enough in theory and awkward enough in practice: finish one round, reset the brain, and go again.
For Chen, it is about completing the job she has already shaped so beautifully. For Nuutinen, it is about seeing whether her 66 remains good enough to matter. For Rothman, it is the chance to turn an entertaining start into a serious challenge.
And for the ABSA Ladies Invitational itself, the storm has merely delayed the conversation. It has not silenced it. If anything, it has sharpened it. Royal Johannesburg now has the field exactly where a good tournament wants them — chasing, waiting and wondering what comes next.
