LOCAL golf hopeful Ryan Cairns warmed up for this year’s edition of the Golden Pilsener Zimbabwe Open in style after managing credible sixth place finish in the IGT Tour’s Centurion Academy Classic in Pretoria, South Africa, yesterday.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
The 30-year-old Harare-born golfer walked away with R2 100 after carding rounds of 69-72 and 69 for at the Wingate Park Country Club for 54-hole total of six under par 210.
He finished seven shot behind the eventual winner Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who finished on 13 under-par 207 after managing rounds of 71-65 and 67.
Cairns will be delighted with his display this week after missing the cut in his last five outings on the Sunshine Tour since making a return from a lengthy wrist injury in January.
The Royal Harare Golf Club pro will lead the locals’ charge in the Golden Pilsener Zimbabwe Open set for April 9-12 on his home course as Zimbabwean golfers attempt break South Africa’s dominance of the country’s flagship tournament.
The former St Georges College student was Zimbabwe’s best performer at the 2013 Zimbabwe Open where he came out tied for seventh position but struggled last year, finishing in a tie for position 64.
Local golfers have found the going tough with the injured Marc Cayeux the only one to come close to winning the title after finishing third behind eventual winner Kruger and second-placed Jaco Van Zyl — all of South Africa — in the 2010 event.
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Meanwhile the Zimbabwe Junior Golf Association have announced a busy schedule for the April schools holidays ahead of the national junior side’s participation at the All Africa Junior Golf Championships to be held in Zambia from May 3 – 9.
Five junior golf tournament tournaments have been lined up in Bulawayo in a space of a week starting with the Nomads tournament at Bulawayo Country Club on April 13.
The other tournaments include the Matabeleland Junior Championship set for BCC on April 14, the Loxton Classic at Bulawayo Golf Club (April 16), the Harry Allen Golf Club tournament (April 16) and the Cotton Waste sponsored tournament (April 17).
