SA Women’s Amateur champion Lisa Coetzer and Flight Division winner Gemma Huxham at The Els Club Copperleaf; credit GolfRSA
27 February 2026 – Fifteen-year-old Lisa Coetzer completed her redemption story in style, winning the SA Women’s Amateur Championship title while 13-year-old Gemma Huxham delivered a fearless finish to capture the Flight Division honours at The Els Club Copperleaf.
After falling short in both the SA Women’s Stroke Play and Amateur Championships last year, Coetzer the finally added the national amateur crown to her already impressive trophy cabinet, and the recent Africa Amateur Women’s Invitational winner did so with grit, composure and perfect timing, winning a gripping 36-hole championship final 2&1.
“Losing in both events fuelled me quite a bid,” said Coetzer.
“I know how it feels to get to the final, and then lose. It’s never the outcome you want. I worked really hard to get here, and I’m proud of how I performed and handled myself this week. This is one of the trophies I’ve always wanted to win, and it feels incredible to get it done.”
Locked in a see-saw battle with Capetonian Kaitlyn van de Vyver, Coetzer trailed by one after the opening 18 holes and found herself 1-down again through 32 in a match where the lead changed hands repeatedly.
After the break at 18 holes, the 15-year-old Coetzer managed to draw level on the 19th to make the match feel as if it was just getting underway again. She won the 20th to edge ahead for the first time all day.
She lost the 20th and regained the lead to stay ahead by one until the 26th, when she went two up, but Van de Vyver hit back, winning the 27th, the 30th and the 31st to go back to 1-up.
2026 South African Women’s Amateur champion Lisa Coetzer at The Els Club Copperleaf; credit GolfRSA
Then came the decisive surge from Coetzer, who refused to be denied this time.
“The 33rd hole is a par-five, and reachable,” she said. “I sent my drive to get myself an easier shot in and made a good birdie there to tie things up. The 34th is driveable par-four and I hit my tee shot over the green. Kaitlyn left her drive short, and then left her chip short, so I knew if I got my chip close enough I could win the hole. I got it to three feet made the birdie putt. I was one ahead again with two to play.
“On the 35th, I just wanted to get as close as possible. I used same swing as I used in the morning with my pitching wedge. I had 123m to the pin and I put it six feet behind the hole. Kaitlyn missed her birdie putt, and I boxed my little left-to-righter to win the match.”
That calm finish sealed the victory. Three clutch holes that defined a champion.
Huxham, meanwhile, proved composure has no age limit.
Up against former winner and experienced mid-amateur Charlene Oosthuizen, she found herself two down before the turn in a fiercely contested match. But the 13-year-old made a deliberate reset. “I was busy putting and I was like, okay, my mindset must change here,” she said. “I started trying to think more positive.”
2026 South African Women’s Amateur Flight champion Gemma Huxham at The Els Club Copperleaf
That shift changed everything. She clawed one back, squared the match on 14 and then surged through 15 and 16 to close out a 2&1 triumph. Even with the title in sight, her focus never wavered. “I was thinking about the next shot,” she explained. “You must forget about the bad shots you’ve already done and think about what new shots you can do.”
Rather than feeling intimidated by Oosthuizen’s experience, Huxham embraced it. “She’s a really nice player. thought, wow, I could learn from this and get more experience,” she said. “It was really fun playing with her.”
Eleven months after winning her first national title at the Nomads SA Girls Rose Bowl Championship at Durbanville Golf Club, she now has another major trophy to her name, and she knows what it could mean.
“This is like a really big tournament to win,” she said. “If you want to get a scholarship, which I really want to do, this would be a really good title to add.”
Calm enough to reset. Brave enough to surge. And at just 13, already dreaming bigger.