Top golfer Ryan Cairns shrugged a poor start to produce two majestic rounds of golf and capture the third edition of the National Aids Council (NAC) Pro-Am gotournament at Royal Harare on Friday.
BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE
Cairns shot a 3-over-75 in the first round and fell eight strokes behind the leader, but he carded impressive figures of 67 and 66 to complete a sensational comeback to win on 8-under-par 208.
The in-form golfer also captured emotions, befittingly dedicating his trophy to his cousin Scott “Scotty” Heathcote, who succumbed to cancer in 2015.
“He had a tumour next to his spine and passed on within 18 months. He was a young guy at Peterhouse doing Upper Six and it was a big loss to the family,” Cairns told Standardsport.
“He also had a big passion for golf and it’s a natural thing for me that I think about him so much. Winning this tournament, which is a fight against HIV and Aids as well as cancer, it’s only natural that I dedicate it to him.
“It means a lot to me to win any tournament here at Royal Harare. The competition was fierce because there are a lot of good young golfers coming up and they just need more chances to play. I think this tournament has the potential to grow because corporates easily warm up to it since it’s for a good cause,” Cairns added.
Cairns, recently won a brand new three-litre 16-valve Toyota Land Cruiser Prado after shooting a hole-in-one at the KCB Karen Masters in Kenya.
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The NAC Pro-Am is a platform to raise awareness on cancer as well as HIV and Aids. The tournament seeks to raise funds to purchase 15 cervical cancer screening machines for the country’s district hospitals.
Mohammad Mandhu, who had a rather quiet tournament, shot a fantastic 67 in the final round to finish second, two shots behind Cairns.
Inaugural champion Stephen Ferreira tied for third with Trainos Muradzikwa on 5-under-par 211, while defending champion Ben Follett-Smith, who led after two rounds, was fifth, one stroke behind.
The tournament attracted a strong field of 63 professionals, while $85 000 had been raised by Friday.
Albert Manenji, who led the organising comittee, hailed the support.
“The tournament was beautiful and exciting. It surpassed last year and we have managed to reach our targets to raise money for cancer-screening machines,” he said.
“We have raised about $85 000 and we have also a number of pledges that are yet to come.
“The tournament is going to be bigger and better next year. We are also thinking of upgrading one of our provincial golf days into a tournament to help our golfers prepare for the Zimbabwe Open.”
