THE Zimbabwe golf fraternity is bracing for a busy schedule this month as the nation prepares to host two high-profile tournaments for the leading male amateur and professional golfers on the continent and beyond in a huge milestone for local golf.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
An action-packed month for local golf is expected to get underway tomorrow morning with the official opening and traditional flag-raising ceremony of the Region 5 Golf Championship, which will be played from Tuesday to Friday at Chapman Golf Club.
Immediately after the conclusion of the Region 5 Championships, attention will shift to the R2 million Old Mutual Zimbabwe Open, which will be held from April 16-22 at the picturesque Royal Harare Golf Club.
The pre-qualifying tournament and the traditional Pro-Am events will be held during this period, culminating in the big tournament for the professionals and exempt amateurs from April 19-22.
The Old Mutual Zimbabwe Open, which is the country’s flagship golf tournament, will see a strong field of 156 golfers battling it out for the coveted title whose past winners include Major winners Vijay Singh and Nick Price.
From tomorrow the spotlight will, however, be on Chapman Golf Club for the 24th edition of one of Africa’s premier amateur golf team championship events, which is being sponsored by FBC Holdings.
This year’s tournament has attracted leading male amateur golfers from most of the other Region 5 countries such as Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and hosts Zimbabwe.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
According to the format of the tournament, which was adopted two years ago, the participating nations will battle it out in an 18-hole pre-qualifying round before they move to the matchplay foursomes.
The Zimbabwe team, which was selected based on the order of merit, comprises of captain David Amm, Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa, Tafara Mpofu, Thompson Masiya, Rashid Mohammed, Tatenda Makunde, Promise Sumbureiro and Conrad Makoto.
Amm’s participation in the tournament was, however, still hanging in the balance yesterday after he was robbed of his belongings and travel documents at gunpoint in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday.
The 18-year-old rising star and his coach, the veteran teaching professional Roger Baylis, had travelled to South Africa for the highly competitive Nomads SA Boys Under-19 Championship played at Woodhill Country Club in Pretoria.
Zimbabwe coach Simon Murungweni was, however, optimistic that Amm would make it in time to represent the country.
“David is a very important member of our team and we were obviously shocked when we heard the news. The good thing is both him and his coach Roger Baylis are safe and the ZGA [Zimbabwe Golf Association] has been frantically making efforts to make sure that he makes it back into the country tomorrow, but if he doesn’t we have got some plans to fill in the void,” Chigorimbo said.
Zimbabwe will be banking on home advantage as they seek to upstage continental giants South Africa, who have consistently dominated the tournament since its inception.
