THE Zimbabwe junior golf team is confident of doing well at the annual Toyota World Junior Golf Championship which tees off in Nagoya, Japan, today.
DANIEL NHAKANISO
Four of the country’s top junior golfers namely Stuart Krog, Justin Kersten, Kieran Vincent and Mbongeni Maphosa will feature in the 72-hole tournament which runs until Friday at Chukyo Golf Club.
Krog, who is the country’s highest ranked golfer in the field, said he was happy with the team’s preparations and was confident they would make a positive impression in their first appearance at the prestigious event in nine years.
“We are looking forward to starting our campaign tomorrow and the team is well prepared and in great spirits. At the moment we are not too sure what to expect, but we will go out there and try to do our best,” Krog told NewsDay Sport in an interview from Japan yesterday.
“The course we are playing in is very similar to Leopard Rock and we have all had success to that golf course so we are feeling very comfortable with our surroundings.”
Zimbabwe, who earned their chance to compete in Japan after coming second to South Africa at last month’s All Africa Junior Golf Challenge in Zambia, are one of the 15 countries competing for the coveted Toyota Cup.
Krog was the country’s best performer at the continental championships, finishing second on the individual leaderboard and just two strokes behind South Africa’s Jovan Rebula.
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The Chapman Golf Club rising star will also bank on the experience he has garnered from high profile tournaments all over the world such as the Junior Orange Bowl Championship and the World Junior Golf Tournament Series.
Krog, who was named Zimbabwe’s Junior Golfer of the Year, also won a silver medal at the recently held Africa Youth Games in Botswana, while he also played alongside some of Southern Africa’s finest professional golfers at the Golden Pilsener Zimbabwe Open.
In addition to Krog’s experience, the other team members Kersten, Vincent and Maphosa have also competed regularly in international tournaments and will, therefore, not be overcalled by the occasion.
The team will be coached by Bulawayo-based professional Phillip Tshuma.
Other countries that will feature in the prestigious event are the United States, Norway, France, Italy, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile and the hosts.
Each of the 15 participating countries will field a four-man team. However, only the best three scores will count towards the team total in each round of the 72-hole event.
