Lily May Humphreys, an English professional golfer, has won the Joburg Ladies Open International Golf Tournament with seven birdies on the verdant Modderfontein Golf Club.
Humphreys held the coveted tournament trophy after finishing the final round of the Ladies European Tour and Sunshine Ladies Tour co-sanctioned event on Saturday, 4 March 2023, east of Johannesburg.
Shortly after her victory, the newly minted professional golfer modestly stated that she was speechless and that reality had yet to sink in.
“It feels surreal. It’s exciting to be standing here with the trophy,” she said, adding that her strategy was to play a good game of golf.
Born on 18 October 2002, Humphreys hails from Stoke by Nayland, in Suffolk, England. She began playing golf when she was two years old, demonstrating a natural talent for the sport. She has since won numerous junior and amateur tournaments in her home country.
Some of her notable achievements include winning the 2017 English Women’s Amateur Championship at the age of 14, making her the tournament’s youngest ever winner. She won the same title again in 2019, becoming a two-time champion. She also claimed victory in the Women’s British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship in 2018 and the 2020 R&A Women’s Amateur Championship.
Humphreys has also represented England in international tournaments such as the European Ladies’ Team Championship and the Junior Vagliano Trophy. She was recognised as England Golf’s Female Player of the Year in both 2018 and 2019.
In the Joburg Open finale, Humphreys had been pitted against about 10 strong South African contenders ahead of the final round, including Nicole Garcia, Lee-Anne Pace, Nadia van der Westhuizen, Kaleigh Telfer, Kiera Floyd, Tandi McCallum, Casandra Alexander, Lora Assad, Stacy Bregman, and Lejan Lewthwaite, who were all vying for a lion’s share of the €300,000 prize purse.
In total, about 64 international golfers made the weekend cut out of a field of 132 golfers who had been enlisted in this year’s four-day tournament.
In the end, however, competition was fierce between Humphreys, Ana Trivino, and Moa Folke, who claimed a shared second position.
Floyd secured a fourth position in the final round, sharing the spoils with fellow compatriots Van der Westhuizen, Pace, and Garcia, who all finished in the top 10.
The Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Thapelo Amad, congratulated Humphreys for her hard-earned victory.
Despite her age, Humphreys is considered one of England’s most promising young professional golfers and is expected to have a successful professional career in the future.
“I am delighted that the tournament finished without any weather delays. It is known that during these golf tournaments we sometimes get showers, which delays play. I am short of words to express my gratitude to the players, sponsors, and organisers that made the Birdies for Dignity initiative a momentous success. Looking at the birdie tally, I am pleased that the ‘Dignity of a Girl Child’ will be restored when I deliver these packs at a school in Alex,” said Mayor Amad after presenting the trophy to Humphreys.
Through the tournament’s “Dignity for a Girl Child” initiative, dignity packs will be delivered to Zenzeleni Primary School in Alexandra on Monday, 6 March. Over 1 000 birdies were scored during the tournament, which means one dignity pack for each professional golfer’s birdie will be donated to the school in Alex in collaboration with multinational retailer Spar.
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