Zim Open tees off

MICHAEL KARIATI

The highly anticipated FBC Zimbabwe Open tees off today at the magnificent Royal Harare Golf Club and runs until Sunday, BT Sport can report.

With Scott Vincent, Zimbabwe’s top golfer competing, the Zimbabwe Golf Association is delighted   that his presence will   inspire young local golfers.

Scott and his brother Kierran arrived in the country on Monday for the Zim Open from Singapore.

“We are excited that our top golfer will be playing in our own biggest tournament. This will inspire a growing band of our upcoming golfers,” the Zimbabwe Golf Association president Martin Chikwanha told BT Sport.

Chikwanha said he is hopeful that the participation of Vincent and a host of other top Zimbabwean golfers will help end the Zimbabwe Open title drought that has gone for more than a decade.

FBC Zimbabwe Open Tour co-ordinator Michael Mahachi announced that for the first time since 2010, Zimbabwe will have all its top golfers on the Royal Harare golf course including Scott.

Apart from Scott and Kieran Vincent, Zimbabwe will also have Robson Chinhoi, Ben Follett Smith and Stuart Krog as they seek Zimbabwe’s first Zimbabwe Open title since 2010 when Marc McNulty won it also at Royal Harare.

The Zimbabwe Open which was introduced in 1979  and is now a permanent resident of Royal Harare after having also used Chapman Golf course as its alternative venue.

The tournament is part of the Sunshine Tour, a grouping of the top golf tournaments in Southern and East Africa.

Chinoi is placed 45th on the Sunshine Tour Rankings with 638.93 points from 29 competitions while Ben Folleth Smith is in 59th place with 467.72 points but from only 11 events.

Stuart Krog is placed 60th with 462.01 points from 28 competitions.

South Africa’s Van Velzen Ryan leads the Tour with 3 524.96 points from 28 events and is followed by another South African William Robin who has 2 690.01 points from 30 competitions and both are expected to take to the course when the Zimbabwe Open roars into life Thursday.

Defending Zimbabwe Open champion Neil Schiekat, a South Africa  golfer, is also billed to take to the course hoping to make it two

titles in a row.

Interestingly, Zimbabwe’s Anderson Rusike who won the competition in 1984 is the only amateur to have won the country’s biggest golf competition in its 45-year-old history.

The Zimbabwe Open – whose qualifying process for the other 35 slots started on Monday – is bankrolled by FBC to the tune of US$200 000.