Ladies golfers crack their clubs.

The Bank Windhoek Namibia Ladies Open Golf Championship will take place this Saturday, 14 July at the Windhoek Country Club. This championship has become a highlight on the Amateur Ladies Golf Calendar, where about 36 golfers are expected to play it out. The annual event has been sponsored by Bank Windhoek for the past 25 years. The format for this tournament will be stroke play,

as players will earn points for their annual merit list, which is used for team selection for national participation in tournaments such as the Regional All-Africa Championship, and the bi-annual All-Africa Championship Tournament where Bonita and Wilna Bredenhann and Letitia Brink, ended 5th overall out of the 21 participating countries.

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"Like last year, an additional category has been added for ladies who do not feel that they are up for fierce competition from professionals. These ladies will be allowed to play a stable ford competition, giving them a chance to perform and compete on their own level and still be part of the tournament, but most of all, enjoy the game. This involves our lady golfers at all levels nationally and give them as much opportunity to take part at a competitive level, as well as to socialise for the enhancement of golf," said Heidi van Niekerk, President of the Namibia Amateur Ladies Golf Union.

Last year's champion, Bonita Bredenhann, will not be defending her title as she is taking part in a major golfing event in South Africa.

One of Namibia's upcoming golfing stars, Jessica Dreesbeimdieke, will also be unable to attend as she will take part in the British Open Championships in England.

Nora Ndopu of Bank Windhoek said that they are proud to be sponsoring the Ladies Open Championship for the 25th consecutive year and happy to see it has grown tremendously over the years, attracting players from other African countries such as Botswana and South Africa.

"We are also proud to see the championship producing stars such as Jessica Dreesbeimdieke and Bonita Bredenhann who are taking part in foreign golfing championships." The Namibia Amateur Ladies Golf Union has eight affiliated clubs in Windhoek, Swakopmund, Oranjemund, Gobabis, Tsumeb, Walvis Bay, Oshakati and Okahandja.