Leján Lewthwaite

Leján Lewthwaite
Personal information
Born (1991-02-12) 12 February 1991 (age 33)
Benoni, South Africa
Height5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Sporting nationality South Africa
ResidenceJohannesburg, South Africa
Career
CollegeTexas State University
Turned professional2016
Current tour(s)LET (joined 2019)
Sunshine Ladies Tour
Former tour(s)LET Access Series (joined 2017)
Professional wins5

Leján Lewthwaite (born 12 February 1991) is a South African professional golfer who plays on the Ladies European Tour.[1]

Amateur career

Lewthwaite was born in Benoni, Gauteng and was 9 years old when she picked up her first club, but only started focusing on golf after she turned 17 and attended the Gavin Levenson Golf Academy. In 2011 she was offered a full golf scholarship to Texas State University,[2] where she won her first NCAA division 1 collegiate tournament in just her second start.[3]

She graduated with a BSc degree (cum laude) in 2015 and returned to South Africa.[4]

Professional career

Lewthwaite turned professional at the start of 2016. She competed in eight tournaments in the 2017 LET Access Series with a best finish being T10 at the Foxconn Czech Ladies Challenge. In 2018 she played in four LET events and then earned her Ladies European Tour card for 2019 by finishing T10 at qualifying school. In 2019 she played in 12 events and made seven cuts, recording two top-10 finishes including a season-best finish of ninth at the Jabra Ladies Open, to retained her card.[1]

Lewthwaite also played on the Sunshine Ladies Tour where she secured her first professional title at the 2019 South African Women's Masters. In 2020 she claimed back-to-back victories at the SuperSport Ladies Challenge, held at Gary Player Country Club, and the Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am, held at Fancourt Hotel and Country Club.[5]

In 2020 she recorded a season-best finish of T16 at the Investec South African Women's Open, held at Westlake Golf Club, and in 2021 she was T7 at the Ladies Italian Open, three strokes off the lead.

Lewthwaite is supported by Investec, the title sponsor of the South African Women's Open, along with compatriots Nicole Garcia and Stacy Bregman.[6][7]

Amateur wins (1)

  • 2011 Johnny Imes Invitational

Professional wins (5)

Sunshine Ladies Tour wins (4)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up Ref
1 21 Feb 2019 South African Women's Masters −1 (75-73-67=215) Playoff South Africa Kajal Mistry (a) [8]
2 4 Feb 2020 SuperSport Ladies Challenge −6 (66-71-73=210) Playoff South Africa Tandi McCallum [9]
3 14 Feb 2020 Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am −9 (66-68-73=207) 8 strokes South Africa Stacy Bregman [10]
4 26 Jan 2022 Vodacom Origins of Golf Ladies Final E (69-75=144)

LET Access Series wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up Ref
1 16 Sep 2023 Hauts de France - Pas de Calais Golf Open −11 (71-69-68=208) Playoff Slovenia Katja Pogačar [11]

References

  1. ^ a b "Leján Lewthwaite Player Profile". Ladies European Tour. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Women's Golf Roster: Leján Lewthwaite". Texas State Bobcats. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  3. ^ "Lejan writes from the U.S." Golf RSA. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Getting to know Leján Lewthwaite". Taylormade Golf. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Leján Lewthwaite Player Profile". Sunshine Ladies Tour. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Invested in women, the future, each other". Investec Golf. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Local golfer an inspiration to women". Booksburg Advertiser. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Final Results 2019 South African Women's Masters". Sunshine Ladies Tour. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Final Results 2020 SuperSport Ladies Challenge". Sunshine Ladies Tour. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Final Results 2020 Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am". Sunshine Ladies Tour. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Final Results 2023 Hauts de France - Pas de Calais Golf Open". Sunshine Ladies Tour. Retrieved 19 September 2023.