Alice Hewson secures maiden win on the LET
Alice Hewson from Hemel Hempstead won the Investec South African Women’s Open on Saturday, one stroke ahead of Monique Smit and Emma Nilsson.
In what can only be described as an unprecedented time in the world, thanks to the Coronavirus, it was nice to see one professional golf tournament still being played this week. It was even nicer to see England’s own Alice Hewson gain her first professional win on the Ladies European Tour.
This might be the last bit of professional golf we get to enjoy for the foreseeable future, with the LPGA, PGA and European tours already cancelling (with some hope of rescheduling) weeks worth of play. The LET decided to continue at Westlake Golf Club over the weekend but has announced the postponement of this week’s Aramco Saudi Ladies International.
“Even though this was not our desired outcome, I wish to thank the Promoter and event owner Golf Saudi for looking into every possible option to make this event happen. We were so impressed with their passion and efforts, and we will work closely with them to find a date in the future to deliver this historic event for our members.”
As for this past weekend, 22-year-old Hewson was more than satisfied that the call to continue play was right.
“I think it was definitely the right decision that we continued playing this week and it’s also the right decision that future tournaments have been cancelled. Everyone was already here and there is a very low risk here so it was nice to be able to play some golf, because we don’t know how long it’s going to be now before we will again,” Hewson told reporters on Saturday.
This isn’t the first time Hewson has been in the news. Last year she became the first English female to compete at Augusta National. Here, she finished in the top 10 of the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Hewson then gained her LET Card at Q School in January.
On Saturday, the rookie secured her first career title with a seven-foot putt on the 18th hole. Proving she definitely has what it takes to close a tournament under pressure.
“I couldn’t have hoped for a better start,” said Hewson. “It feels absolutely incredible and it really is a dream come true. Growing up as a kid, all I could ever dream of was playing on the Ladies European Tour and to come and win my first event, the feeling is indescribable.”
Adding, “This has definitely happened a lot quicker than I thought it would. I was hoping to get off to a nice steady start, but this is definitely a good thing!”
A good thing indeed! We look forward to watching Hewson progression on the LET in the future.
