South African golfer Stacy Bregman is flying high. The Joburg-based 20-year-old has recently earned her Ladies European Tour card, placing third at the tour school in Spain. Bregman competed against 92 players from 25 countries for just 25 allocated playing cards. This career-changing milestone comes hot on her October 2006 triumph which saw her compete as an integral part of the South African team that won the World Amateur Team Championships, beating 41 countries in a nail-biting showdown against Sweden – the first time a South African team has won the championship.
It’s all part of the game. Says Bregman, “Coming from an amateur background – where you only win trophies – turning professional is very exciting. It’s really great to earn playing privileges. It means everything starts now. I can start earning money, and can start supporting myself. Literally everything changes.” Bregman has her eye firmly on the future: “Europe is a great starting ground, as I’ll be playing against new competition all the time and learning how to perform in the professional arena, which is so different to amateur golf. Longer term, my goal is to get my card on the LPGA Tour in the USA.”
Bregman has been a consistent top-five player in her five years playing on the South African amateur circuit. Says Ashley Kotzin, CEO of the FORWARDZONE Sports Agency – Bregman’s management group – “This is another great breakthrough for South African women’s golf. Stacy’s one of the first South African women to qualify for a European playing card in a number of years. We’re very excited to be representing such a fine young talent who has such great potential – and look forward to helping her develop her very promising career.”
Bregman’s debut year on the pro circuit is set to be formidable: she’s scheduled to leave for Australia in February to compete in the Australian Open and ANZ before returning to SA to compete in four tournaments. In May she’s scheduled to fly off to Tenerife, Spain, to kick-start her European campaign, which should see her competing in more than 25 tournaments through November.
With its global affiliations stretching from South Africa to Europe and the United States Johannesburg-based FORWARDZONE – which specializes in sports management, consulting and eventing – is perfectly positioned to assist Stacy with her globetrotting professional campaign.
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