ZIMBABWE’s flagship golf event, the Zimbabwe Open Golf tournament, will take place at its traditional home Royal Harare Golf Club from April 18-21, the organisers confirmed yesterday.
Report by Daniel Nhakaniso
The Sunshine Tour co-sanctioned event, which brings together both local and Southern Africa’s finest golfers together, is by far the highlight of the local golf calendar.
Tendai Gwatiringa, an official of the Zimbabwe Open Golf Committee — the organisers of the event — confirmed the dates for this year’s tourney in an interview with NewsDay Sport.
“The 2013 Zimbabwe Open has been set for Thursday April 18 to Sunday April 21. The relevant pre-qualifying games and the traditional pro-am tournaments will be held during this period, culminating in the final professional tournament during the last four days of the week.
“The organisers have decided to stick to the April dates after the success of last year’s tournament. The dates have also been scheduled to attract many golfers who will have taken part in some South African events.
“The organisers also considered the fact that local greens are in their best conditions in April as was the case last year, which is good for the participating golfers,” said Gwatiringa, who is also the marketing and communications director on the country’s premier golf tour, the Golden Pilsener Zambezi Tour.
Delta Beverages through their Golden Pilsner brand bankrolled last year’s tournament with a total sponsorship package of $550 000, inclusive of the R1,2 million prize money.
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Last year’s tournament was won by South African Chris Swanepoel who became the third straight South African to win the tourney since it was revived in 2010.
Jbe Kruger won the 2010 edition, while his countryman Theunis Spanernberg won it in 2011.
Local professionals have found the going tough with the injured Marc Cayeux the only one to come close to the winners after finishing third behind eventual winner Kruger and second-placed Jaco Van Zyl, all of South Africa in the 2010 event.
Last year, Tongo Charamba finished as the highest placed Zimbabwean professional after finishing in a tie for position 21.
