This is the inaugural tournament and the Zimbabwe Golfers Association hope Gerald Swabane in Division 1, Kennan Breda in Division 2 and Brighton Nekatsimbe, in Division 3, will see Zimbabwe’s name engraved as the first winners of the tournament that has also drawn participants from Botswana, South Africa, and Zambia.
The tournament is for amateur golfers, with the Zimbabwean team drawn from a nationwide competition that involved tournaments like the Hwange Open, Leopold Rock, the Mashonaland West Union, the Dugmore and the Roland.
The top three golfers from these tournaments were chosen to represent the country and Nekatsimbe believed they would be up to the task. “We have the best golf courses around and we have been practicing in those. I am told the course we are going to play on is equally good and I hope we will use the experience from home to bring the title,” he said.
Zimbabwean golfers have always done well against amateur opponents from other Southern African countries, apart from South Africa, where the sport is played at a higher level due to increased sponsorship.
Although Zimbabwe still has Brendon de Jonge among the top 100 players on the PGA Tour, there is need for one or two more golfers to rise from the amateur ranks and help him maintain the nation’s proud tradition.
Zimbabwe had the honour of having a world number one in the form of Nick Price in 1993 and was well complimented with two other top 100 players – Marc McNulty and Tony Johnstone.
The previous year, Lewis Muridzo Chitengwa Jr beat Tiger Woods in the play-off of the Orange Bowl tournament, which draws together the best junior golfers from around the world.
Post published in: Football