Chikwana hails R&A golf initiative

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^The Zimbabwe Golf Association (ZGA) president, Martin Chikwana, has praised The R&A – the global governing body of golf outside the Americas – for the Africa Amateur Championship, which he describes as a game-changer for the development of the sport on the continent.

The second edition of the prestigious event was held at Leopard Creek in South Africa over a week ago, with over 70 golfers from across the continent participating. The Africa Amateur Championship (men) and the Africa Amateur Women’s Invitational ran concurrently.

The Africa Amateur Championship and the Women’s Invitational were developed by The R&A to nurture talent and provide a pathway for the continent’s elite amateur golfers to the international stage. These competitions offer golfers once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

“The Africa Amateur Championship has brought a new perception of golf and its development. The fact that there is a platform provided by The R&A that brings together all the African countries, all 52 of them, is amazing. What it does is it gives them something to play for. I must mention that when players do participate in the Africa Amateur, there are no financial prizes given.

“However, if you look at the opportunities provided for those youngsters in the event that you win the tournament, it makes everything worthwhile. The winner of this Championship receives invitations to four or five other events, including The Open, which is the biggest golf event in the world, and the Alfred Dunhill, another DP World event.

“So, in essence, it opens so many doors that enable the youngsters to rub shoulders with those who have been playing golf for a while, pick up new things, new ideas, and develop further to grow their skills. The Africa Amateur has been such a huge event,” said Chikwana.

Chikwana added that with the annual event still new in Africa, having been introduced last year, their hope is to see its continued growth, offering youngsters the platform to showcase their talents to the rest of the world.

“The equivalent of this event in South America has been going on for the past 10 years. The equivalent event has been running for more than 10 years in Europe. So the fact that we now have it in Africa shows that it was something missing, and eventually, we have it.

“Now, it’s a platform where youngsters can showcase the talent they have. We are quite happy and hopefully, the event continues to grow and becomes a platform that everyone would want to participate in,” said Chikwana.

South Africa’s Bryan Newman won this year’s edition of the Africa Amateur Championship, finishing just two shots ahead of Zimbabwe’s Keegan Shutt. Newman shot eight-under-par 280, while Shutt carded six-under-par 282.

The Women’s Invitational was won by Gia Raad of South Africa. Zimbabwe’s Danielle Bekker managed to secure a top-10 finish, ending tied in ninth. – @brandon_malvin