×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Zimbabwe trio named for World Amateur Champs

Sport
UNITED States-based amateurs Scott Vincent, Ray Badenhorst and Ben Follet Smith will represent Zimbabwe at the biennial World Amateur Team Championships

UNITED States-based amateurs Scott Vincent, Ray Badenhorst and Ben Follet Smith will represent Zimbabwe at the biennial World Amateur Team Championships in Japan in September, the Zimbabwe Golf Association (ZGA) announced yesterday.

DANIEL NHAKANISO SPORTS REPORTER

Follet-Smith, who is on a golf scholarship at Mississippi State University, will make his debut at the world-class event while Badenhorst returns for duty, having represented the country in the 2012 edition in Turkey.

Virginia Tech University’s Vincent is the most experienced member of the team having represented the country in two previous editions of the tournament in Argentina (2010) and two years ago in Turkey.

The Harare-born rising star helped Zimbabwe to a credible 17th place finish at the 2012 World Amateur Team Championship in Antalya, Turkey; the country’s best ever result in the international event.

Tonderai Masunga will be the non-travelling reserve after narrowly missing out of an automatic ticket during the later stages of the five qualifying local tournaments held around the country since May. Having got off to a strong start Masunga eventually settled for third position on the Race to Eisenhower Trophy Qualifiers behind Badenhorst and Follet-Smith respectively.

The qualifying tournaments were the Matabeleland, Manicaland, Midlands, Harare and the Zimbabwe Amateur Championship won by Follet-Smith in Chiredzi on Tuesday. Vincent was named in the team as the ZGA selectors’ pick following an impressive season on the US Collegiate golf circuit where he won three times before recently clinching the Players Amateur.

The 21-year-old is a three-time winner at Virginia Tech University during the 2013/14 season.

He also lifted the 15th annual Players Amateur on July 13 to earn himself an exemption into a PGA TOUR golf tournament the 2015 RBC Heritage tournament.