A trio of the country’s amateur golfers comprising United States-based Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa, David Amm, and Keegan Shutt is currently representing Zimbabwe at the ongoing 2023 edition of the World Amateur Team Championships in Abu Dhabi.
The event which teed off on Wednesday is set to conclude tomorrow.
Zimbabwe managed to send a men's team to the 33rd edition of the tournament which is popularly known as the Eisenhower Trophy.
Last year, the Zimbabwe team which included Rasheed Mohamed, Clifford Sibanda, and Shutt, who is making a return this time around, finished 61st out of the 71 teams that took part in the event which took place in Paris.
The team looks stronger this time around with Amm who has been playing his best golf in recent weeks and is reportedly contemplating turning pro, Nyamukondiwa whose US colligate golf experience can come in handy, and Shutt, possibly the best junior golfer in the country at the moment.
However, the competition 36 countries taking part this year.
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The head of the delegation for Zimbabwe Martin Chikwana expressed delight following the qualification of the team for the competition.
“It’s a huge achievement not only for the players but also for the country to be able to have representation at such a marquee global event. It speaks a lot about where we have come from as a country in terms of producing players that can compete on the world stage. This event is more like the World Cup of golf and we are very proud to have qualified to take part in it,” Chikwana told Golf Zone in an earlier interview.
“There will also be a congress which will be held on the sidelines of the World Amateur Team Championship and to be able to sit among the other 72 countries to make decisions for golf at a global scale is also humbling for us. We are looking forward to this competition and we can only hope that our team will be able to make us proud,” the Zimbabwe Golf Association president said.
Zimbabwe tied for 22nd on 1 – under after the first round on Wednesday with Nyamukondiwa driving the team, carding a round of 2 under par 70 while Amm was 1 – over – par 73.
It was a difficult day for Shutt who shot a round of 82 which was not included in the scoring.
The team is also accompanied by coach Simon Murungweni.
The World Amateur Team Championships hosted by the Emirates Golf Federation include 72 holes of stroke play competition.
Each country fields two or three players with the two lowest scores counting per round.
The field has four of the top five ranked amateurs in the world, including Nick Dunlap (Alabama), David Ford (UNC), and Gordon Sargent (Vanderbilt) from the United States.
The championships will be held in the Middle East for the first time since their inauguration in 1958.
The championships have historically brought together some of the top amateur players around the world.
Some of the men who have participated in the WATC include Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods of the United States, Colin Montgomerie of Great Britain, Sergio Garcia of Spain and Rory McIlroy of Ireland.