Four members of the Ladies European Tour took a shark dive on Thursday morning ahead of the South African Women’s Open, taking place on 13-15 July at Selborne Park Golf Club in KwaZulu-Natal.

Australian Lindsey Wright and England’s Felicity Johnson were joined by Indian duo Sharmila Nicollet and Smriti Mehra in the cage dive out of Rocky Bay, Pennington.

They were surrounded by blacktip sharks while a pair of humpback sharks swam only 50 metres from their boat.

Smriti said: “It was absolutely amazing; a once in a life time opportunity,” while Felicity commented: “It was a brilliant experience: incredible. That’s why I came to South Africa!”

Lindsey added: “What a wonderful experience.”

All four players will be competing in South Africa’s oldest women’s professional golf tournament, which has reclaimed its place on the Ladies European Tour (LET) calendar, and will feature the country’s leading professionals competing against a strong international field for a total purse of €260 000.

The resurgence of the South African Women’s Open is the vision of new promoters World Sports Promotions in a partnership with the KwaZulu-Natal local government and the Hibiscus Coast Municipality.