Love and golf rule all
PLETTENBERG BAY - For Gina Woolley and Simon Mottershead of Goose Valley Golf Estate, 2023 was a fairy-tale year - not only did the pair win the Windhoek Lager International mixed pairs golf competition in Portugal, but they started as life partners after a romantic proposal in France.
True to South African tradition, they cemented their win over a pair of Ugandan golfers by only one point in the final, which was held on the Bom Successo golf course in Obidos, about an hour north of Lisbon, from 6 to 10 November. "From only securing a golf handicap in February to winning the world amateur mixed championship just nine months later, it is truly a meteoric achievement for Gina," said Simon.
The world finals in Portugal, where about 300 amateurs participated, was a fantastic experience and an all-expenses-paid trip to represent their country on the world stage.
"The first day of the finals was very wet. Portugal had seen heavy rainfall and the course was so wet that they could not even get the mowers out to cut the grass, so the conditions were very challenging," said Simon.
"After day one we were four points back,
tied with our playing partners, an Australian couple, in third place on 34 points. The Ugandans were in first place with 38 points and the English couple in second on 36 points.
With nine holes to play on the final day, the English couple had slipped back to a tie for third with the Australians and Egyptians, with us now in second place, six points adrift from the Ugandans."
Gina and Simon needed a mammoth second nine to have any chance. "After a par save on the 16th hole by me, and a good twopointer by Gina after I had hit my tee shot out of bounds on 17, we were two back with one to play!"
A birdie on the final hole after a brilliant second by Simon is what secured the playoff with the Ugandans though, and it was Gina who stepped up there. "A brilliant drive set up a good second. Gina hit a lovely eight iron but it veered left and got a bad bounce to leave her hard up against the bush left of the green.
“Gina made a miraculous recovery shot to lie just off the green, leaving a 6m left to right putt, which she calmly rolled up to within a few centimetres of the hole, leaving her a short putt for the win. “In true South African style we won by one point!" said Simon.
She said yes!
The champagne moments for Gina and Simon did not stop there. A week later, in Pinhao, the wine region of northern France, on a boat cruise on the river Douro, Simon popped the question that would see them united as not only golfing partners, but life partners too.
"She said yes, and the trip of a lifetime was complete. World champs, with the cherry on the top a beautiful wife to-be as well," said Simon, who had - in traditional fashion - sought Gina's hand in marriage from her father a day before he left for Portugal.
Gina and Simon met at Goose Valley in March 2022 at the North vs South (SA vs Swallows) tournament. "I was enjoying drinks on the grass at the Verandah restaurant after our game, and she was coming back from a day at the Polo fields with a friend, and stopped in for a final drink. This is where our journey began. On the verandah at Goose Valley overlooking the 18th fairway," said Simon.