Grit and guts earns Millard and Gerber SA Women’s Amateur Stroke Play glory

TSHWANE, 24 February 2026 – Charlotte Millard sealed victory in the 2026 South African Women’s Amateur Stroke Play Championship with a clutch birdie on the fourth extra play-off hole, while Southern Cape teen Dané Gerber won the Silver Division on debut at The Els Club Copperleaf.

Locked at seven-under-par 207 after 54 holes, Millard traded pars with Isabella Ferreira down the 18th twice, with Millard producing a stunning chip on the second trip to keep the contest alive. After another extra hole halved in pars, the 20-year-old Central Gauteng golfer finally broke the deadlock on the fourth trip down the 18th with a decisive birdie, capitalising after Ferreira found the rough off the tee and overhit her approach.

The dramatic finish capped a week that Millard had set alight from the outset.
The 20-year-old opened with a flawless nine-under-par 63 that featured four birdies on the front nine and five on the back nine and she slept on a five-shot cushion. “That was a very fortunate round in the first round,” said Millard.

“The course was set up quite short on day one and the wind was definitely not as strong then as it was in the next two rounds. You must capitalise on the easier conditions at Copperleaf, and that took a bit of pressure off before day two and three.”

When momentum shifted in round two with three back-nine bogeys, she responded immediately with a pair of birdies to salvage an even-par 72 and carry a one-shot lead into the final round. “I started off well on the front nine in the second round, but I just didn’t make any putts. I had chances because I didn’t miss a green until we turned. In fact, I hadn’t missed any greens in the first round, either. Then I missed two greens in a row and made bogey. I managed to make the birdies I needed on the par-five 15th and the driveable par-four 16th.”

On the final day, Millard birdied the 10th to stay ahead after Ferreira stumbled with two early bogeys, but she gave up the lead with a double-bogey at the par-five 15th after needing three shots to escape a bunker. True to form, she answered with a birdie at 16 for a second successive 72, setting the stage for a marathon play-off that demanded every ounce of her grit.

It was a battle she would not lose.

“In the final round, after the 10th hole, I knew I had quite a bit of a lead, so I was just trying to make pars going home,” she said. “I made an unfortunate double on the par-five 15th. There was nothing I could really do to control that as I just played three bad shots in the bunker. I just missed out for the birdies on 16 and 17, so I gave it everything on 18. Went for the pin, missed it a bit left, but made the putt from the fringe for birdie.”

Then came the drama of the play-off. “Isabella was fairly close on that second play-off hole,” said Millard. “I knew it was uphill, so I wasn’t too concerned about the chip, but I left it a bit short. I did have a dead straight putt, so I wasn’t too worried.”

This win was all about composure under pressure. “Once I made that big putt on 18 in regulation, I knew I could fight my way back,” she said. “It’s a very special win. I think the SA Women’s Stroke Play and Match Play titles are the two everyone wants to win at least once in their life. I’m incredibly very happy to have ticked off one box and lift the trophy.”
It’s been some ride for Millard.

She 2025 Egyptian Ladies Amateur champion arrived at the women’s premier events in serious form. She backed up victory in the Eastern Province Border Championship in late January with a third-place finish in the R&A Africa Amateur Women’s Invitational at Royal Johannesburg and 10th in the GolfRSA International Amateur at Houghton Golf Club – where she played her part in Team South Africa’s successful defence of the Women’s Team Competition title.

Last week, she added another podium with third place in the North West Women’s Open.

It started with her first national breakthrough on the junior circuit at the 2024 Nomads SA Girls Championship at Gary Player Country Club. The trajectory has been steady, the belief is growing and the results now following.

Last year’s winner Kesha Louw (70) took third, two shots out of the play-off on 209 after a closing two-under-par 70, while 2026 Africa Amateur Women’s Invitational winner Lisa Coetser (73) was fourth on 211/

SILVER DIVISION
Thirteen-year-old Gerber turned her national debut into a title-winning breakthrough at the SA Women’s Stroke Play Championship.

From Southern Cape junior opens to national champion in one leap, the Fancourt junior stepped onto the biggest stage and didn’t blink. Rounds of 96, 83 and 85 sealed her victory on 264, two shots clear of Randpark senior Valda Ford and Bryanston’s Katy Hunt.

Gerber was 12 strokes behind first-round leader Natasha Murray after day one. By the final round, she had clawed her way to within one.

“After that opening round, I told myself to just enjoy it because I know how well these girls play,” Gerber said. “It felt like my reputation was at stake in a GolfRSA event, so I just tried my best to get back into contention.”

On the final day, she shut out the noise. No leaderboard watching. No score updates. Even her parents kept her in the dark.

“I didn’t know how things were going,” she said. “Just before prizegiving, my parents told me that I’d won. This really means the world to me. I learned that there is always someone who plays better, but you shouldn’t give up; you just have to keep trying to do your best.”

The focus now shifts to the Match Play Championship, where the two winners will tee it up as the number one seeds in their respective divisions when knockout golf begins tomorrow.

The Championship Division (top 32) and Flight Division (next best 32) tee off with a demanding double session cutting the fields to 16 in the morning and eight in the afternoon.

From there, the intensity builds.
Thursday’s quarter-finals and semi-finals will carve the fields down to the finalists, setting the stage for a decisive Friday: an 18-hole Flight Division final and a gruelling 36-hole Championship showdown to crown the 2026 champion.

New format. New pressure. And every hole counts.