New lease of life for Zim pro golf

Sport
BARELY two months into the two-year term of office, the new Zimbabwe Professional Golfers Association (ZPGA) board led by former television personality Gary Thompson seems to have breathed a new lease of life into the professional game after launching a new $30 000 National Aids Council (NAC)-sponsored Pro-Am event on Thursday.

BARELY two months into the two-year term of office, the new Zimbabwe Professional Golfers Association (ZPGA) board led by former television personality Gary Thompson seems to have breathed a new lease of life into the professional game after launching a new $30 000 National Aids Council (NAC)-sponsored Pro-Am event on Thursday.

BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE

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In the past, professional tournaments have been few and far apart, resulting in local professional golfers failing to make a living out of the sport.

After election into office, Thompson and company pledged to offer their members at least one tournament a week worth over $1 000.

“When I came I felt we could make $1 000 a week so that our boys can play for what translates to $52 000 in a calendar year and with this sponsorship by NAC and the others behind the scenes, I think it’s going to grow beyond that number,” the ZPGA president said in an interview with Standardsport.

“We had not yet mentioned about this new partnership to our golfers until today because we want to deliver as an executive. You can see now that NAC has committed so we can confidently go out there and say look guys some good things are happening in golf,” Thompson said. The NAC-sponsored event, dubbed the Revitalisation of HIV and Cancer Prevention Golf tournament, tees off on September 2 at the picturesque Royal Harare Golf Club.

Thompson believes the careers of some gifted professional golfers had suffered due to lack of adequate sponsored tournaments.

“Promising careers have suffered partly because there haven’t been too many tournaments for our professionals to look forward to. I think also people look at the administration and I think we have got an amazing executive so I think we are offering a lot of bang for buck and everything is meticulously listed with the right structures,” he said.

He highlighted his executive’s ultimate target in its two-year tenure.

“You are only as good as your players. We have got some great players and we want to make sure we attract the best players and we are a fertile ground for great Zimbabwean players. They should be able to make a living, take their talent and rise to levels that can then take them beyond our borders. They have to be competitive whether in South Africa or Europe or Asia,” he said.