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It was a historic 83rd Masters tournament for golf and Tiger Woods – but also for South African golf.
Pauli van Meersbergen, a senior tournament coordinator and rules official on both the Sunshine Tour and Sunshine Ladies’ Tour, made history when she was invited as a rules official at the Masters.
“I’m still speechless. It far exceeded any expectations I had,” said Van Meersbergen as she reflected on her week at the iconic Augusta National Golf Club.
“Just driving into Augusta National Golf Club – that place is unbelievable. You can never see on television what you actually find there. Everything is exactly where it should be. I can see now why the players get so excited about going there.”
And there was double excitement among the South African players when they recognised one of their own among the many international officials inside the ropes.
“It just so happened that the first ruling I gave was for Branden Grace. He was so surprised to see me and we started speaking Afrikaans regarding his rules query. The surrounding gallery was a bit confused by that. Then in the second round I was responsible for hole 14 and every South African player that came past congratulated me for being there.”
Van Meersbergen was assigned to holes eight, nine, 14 and 15 over the four days of the major and gave rulings for Matt Kuchar and Dustin Johnson in this time. But there was one player she was very pleased did not request a ruling from her.
“Tiger Woods. I was very nervous about having to give him a ruling and fortunately that didn’t happen. But I was on hole 15 in the final round, so it was great to see him come past. The fact that Tiger won is something that will be in the history books forever and watching him make that last putt and embracing his family – I had tears in my eyes. I just feel blessed and humbled to have been given the opportunity.”
Van Meersbergen’s presence at the Masters was another significant moment for women’s golf. A week prior, the first Augusta National Women’s Amateur was played there. And in South Africa, the women’s game continues to grow at both professional and amateur level.
Steyn City golf club recently launched a big drive to help develop women’s golf at a social level when it hosted its first Sixters event, which was a six-hole tournament aimed at providing a time-friendly format for corporate women to become more involved in golf.
“Women have been looking for this kind of opportunity in golf,” said Tammy Menton, the founder of the 7% Tribe, which is focused on supporting female executives in the corporate world.
“Women in golf is big business. But women network differently to men, which is why initiatives such as this that welcome women golfers in a friendly environment are such a positive thing.”
Innocentia Motau was another leading businesswoman who attended the Sixters tournament, and who is a growing player in the local golf industry as the founder of her own golf apparel line.
“It’s time for women to become a greater part of the South African golf narrative. The industry needs to realise that women also take golf holidays. I’ve been to watch the Masters and I’ve been to the Open six times. I’ve played the Old Course in St Andrews, Wentworth, Fancourt and so many others. We have an important role to play in the game.”
It’s a message Van Meersbergen is equally proud to convey through her own career. “I think the timing is very good for South African women’s golf and to put women’s golf more in the media. The Sunshine Tour has been great in giving me so many opportunities. I don’t think there will be anything that can top my experience of being a rules official at the Masters.”
