Botswana’s first female professional golfer Ouname Mhotsha has represented Botswana at the Jabra Ladies Classic that was held at Killarney Country Club in Johannesburg, South Africa from 11th – 13th March 2026, becoming the first Motswana to take part in the competition of that magnitude.
The Jabra Ladies Classic is a women’s professional golf tournament organised by Sunshine Ladies Tour which is the biggest professional Ladies Golf league in Africa, designed to provide a platform for local and international golfers to display their talent and make a living. The tournament attracted 100 participants from Botswana, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and various European countries.
In an interview, Mhotsha said her qualification to the tournament was based on her status as a professional golfer and membership with the Sunshine ladies tour.
Mhotsha stated that her participation at the tournament was very important because it gave her a baseline of where she is standing, compared to other international professional golfers. She highlighted that the tournament showed her that she can definitely compete with the best in Africa.
Highlighting on her performance at the competition, Mhotsha said that though she was not able to bring home a medal, she played well as someone who was participating on the competition of that magnitude for the first time. She added that through the tournament she learned lots of lessons and feedback to build off and get better for the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, Mhotsha is one of the few ladies who were introduced to golf in Botswana at a young age. At the age of 12, she went on to become the youngest player to dominate the golf ranks in the country attaining 16 amateur wins, including two international wins. She had a successful college golf career in the United States for four years from 2017 to 2021.
Mhotsha is the founder of Thanya Monana Projects, an initiative which harnesses the power of golf to reduce inequalities and expand opportunities for young people from underserved communities in Botswana and across Africa. Thanya Monana Projects combines mentorship, professional development and skills to ease social and economic barriers, particularly for young women aspiring to have careers in golf.
Mhotsha had previously told Times Sport that through the Thanya Monana project her intention is to leverage learnt lessons and experiences from her journey to assist other young golfers coming behind her while also empowering them to assist those that will come after them, hence creating ripple effect that can put African golfers in a better position to leverage the opportunities within the sport of golf.
Since its launch, Thanya Monana Projects has supported over 30 young people from Botswana, Ghana, and Kenya including one participant who earned a full US college golf scholarship and reached more than 700 beneficiaries both in person and online.
