Zimbabwe Open Returns After Nine-Year Hiatus

For the first time since 1991, the Zimbabwe Open Golf Tournament, featuring top golfers on Africa's Sunshine Tour, has returned to the 112-year-old Royal Harare Golf Course in Harare. The African communications giant Africom, with support from six other companies in Zimbabwe, is the main sponsor, earning the right to put its name on the event.

The Africom Zimbabwe Open, called the Africom Zim Open by locals, kicked off on April 19 with a two-day Pro-Am, matching enthusiastic amateur golfers with Sunshine Tour pros, mainly from South Africa. The four round pro event, which started officially on Wednesday, April 21, features 144 golfers from 11 countries vying for the 200,000 Rand (approximately US$28,000) first prize purse.

The largest contingent, as was expected, came from neighboring South Africa, but golfers from as far away as Brazil were present, as well as several Zimbabweans who qualified in a pro event at Royal Harare the previous week.

African professional golf associations have been shunning Zimbabwe since 1991 because of the political turmoil in the country associated with land seizures and political violence. Zimbabwe Professional Golf Association president Arkil Yousuf's efforts to convince the associations to lift their ban, and his ability to convince sponsors to pony up financial support (over one million South African Rand) was key to getting this once premier event on the Sunshine Tour reinstated.

Low entry fees ($2 and $5) ensured access to the tournament for many golf lovers of modest income, and Royal Harare pulled out all the stops to bring the course up to professional standards. South African pro Jaco Ahler, with whom I played in the opening Pro-Am, said it was his first time playing in Harare, and he was impressed by the quality of the course. Immaculate greens, lush fairways, and the sight of duiker cavorting in the near rough, made it a memorable event. It was not without its challenges, however, with over 80 bunkers guarding most greens, and the greens themselves elevated and sloped, so that accurate approach shots are essential, and tight fairways lined by towering trees, it made accurate tee shots necessary for a shot at making the cut. One amateur player remarked, "The greens are faster than a Las Vegas showgirl. You breathe on the ball, and it scoots twenty feet."

The tournament itself was not without some controversy. According to the weekly Standard, the original Zim Open trophy, which was supposed to be in the possession of one of the clubs on the Sunshine Tour (Royal Harare or Chapman Golf Club), mysteriously disappeared, and a new one had to be made at some expense. Inability to raise the R130,000 required by Supersport there was no live TV coverage of the event.

The Sunday edition of the Herald reported that Zimbabwean Mark Cayeux shot an eight under par 64 to share the round one lead with Eugene Marugi of South Africa. South African Anthony Michael moved ahead in round two, with two shots over Cayeux through the end of the third round. Round four on Saturrday saw South Africa's Jbe Kruger move up from well down in the standings and win the Open with a 19 under par 269. Jaco Van Zyl of South Africa came in second with 15 under (70-70-66-65), and Cayeux took third place with 15 under (64-67-72-72).

Golfers and golf enthusiasts in Zimbabwe are happy to see the return of one of the Sunshine Tour's premier events.

References:

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

http://www.herald.co.zw/