Staff WriterGermany’s Celina Sattelkau turned The Links at Fancourt into her own personal playground on Sunday, cruising to a five-shot victory at the NTT DATA Ladies’ Pro-Am brought to you by Standard Bank and completing a ruthless back-to-back double on the Sunshine Ladies Tour.
The 24-year-old signed for a composed closing 72 to finish seven under par for the week, safely clear of compatriot Sophie Witt, who took solo second on two under after a final-round 73. For Sattelkau, it follows hot on the heels of last week’s win at the SuperSport Ladies Challenge – two trophies in two weeks, and not a hint of stage fright.
“Back-to-back wins – yes I am super happy as I did not feel so well about my game this week. My body also did not feel very well this morning. I am happy to have pulled it off,” Sattelkau said.
Holding her nerve in the Fancourt wind
Sattelkau started the final round of the NTT DATA Ladies’ Pro-Am with a three-shot cushion, the sort of lead that can either feel like a comfy duvet or a straightjacket. On a blustery day at The Links at Fancourt, it was neither – just a number she calmly protected with golf that looked about as flustered as a metronome.
She dropped only one shot all day, plotting her way round one of South Africa’s most exacting layouts with the patience of someone defusing a bomb rather than trying to beat a field of hungry professionals.
“Today was really difficult. It was windy and the pin placements weren’t easy with the firmer greens. It was a big mental and physical challenge. On this course, you can lose a golf ball really quickly. Staying on the fairways was critical today. I made only pars on the front nine, which I was happy about. After the bogey, I knew I could make some birdies on the last few holes, and that is what I did. The birdie on the 18th hole was a great way to finish”
That closing birdie on 18 was more victory lap than rescue act – the exclamation mark on a week where she never really looked like handing the trophy to anyone else.
German one-two at The Links
If you’re looking for signs that German women’s golf is in rude health, the final leaderboard will do nicely. Sattelkau on top, Witt in second – a neat little Teutonic takeover on South African soil.
“I am really happy for Sophie (Witt) as well. We actually shared a room last week and this week. We are really good friends. Finishing first and second is always great so I think we will be sharing more rooms this year,” Sattelkau said.
Room-mates, friends and now podium partners – it’s the kind of storyline that tournament organisers dream of and that the Sunshine Ladies Tour will happily dine out on. For Witt, a closing 73 and a two-under-par total was a rock-solid performance in its own right, even if she ran into a runaway train wearing German colours.
Sunshine Ladies Tour form horse
Two weeks into the season and Celina Sattelkau has already become the name everyone circles on the tee sheet. The NTT DATA Ladies’ Pro-Am title, added to her SuperSport Ladies Challenge victory, announces her as the early pace-setter on tour – the player with the hot putter, the steadiest head and the most momentum.
Back-to-back wins on any professional circuit are rare; to do it over contrasting challenges, including the windswept tightropes of The Links at Fancourt, suggests this is more than a brief purple patch.
Her ability to grind out pars on the front nine, absorb the inevitable bogey, then flip the switch and attack the closing stretch is exactly the kind of pattern that wins multiple times a year. It’s also the sort of form that makes everyone else suddenly very interested in where she’s teeing it up next.
Home hopes and international flair
While Germany claimed the top two spots, there was still plenty for local fans to cheer. South Africa’s Stacy Bregman produced a tidy final-round 71 to climb into a share of third place on one under par, alongside Iceland’s Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir, who carded a 72.
Their finishes added a dash of international flavour to a leaderboard already boasting German dominance and underlined the growing depth of the Sunshine Ladies Tour – a circuit that increasingly looks like a global proving ground rather than a purely regional stop.
From the opening tee shots to that final birdie on 18, the NTT DATA Ladies’ Pro-Am delivered exactly what you’d want from a co-sanctioned showcase: a world-class venue, a demanding test, and a champion who didn’t so much edge over the line as stride across it with a grin and another trophy for the luggage.
