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Takudzwa Chitsiga
Sports Reporter
CONGRATULATORY messages continued to pour in for golfer Robson Chinhoi who wrote a new page in his career on Sunday when he lifted his first global title at the Zanaco Masters at Lusaka Golf Club in Zambia.
Chinhoi emerged tops from a strong field, which included the recent Zimbabwe Open Championship winner Neil Schietekat, who he beat in a tense playoff.
His dominance, in just his 11th Sunshine Tour start, came with a massive rankings boost, and has been described by the Zimbabwe Golf Association technical committee chairman Michael Mahachi as a victory for Zimbabwe and the continent as a whole.
“Firstly a big congratulation to Robson and his management team who are behind his steady progress. This was a massive victory not only for Robson but for African Golf,” said Mahachi, who was also in Lusaka as a tournament referee at the event.
“While the Zimbabwe flag rose high on the fairways of Lusaka Golf Club on Sunday, the multitude of those following the penultimate game No 30 was headlined by the golf fans from Lusaka and others from across the borders.
“The crowd had an African feel and so was his victory. While this was a great result for Zimbabwean Golf, it should be music in the ears of everyone looking to grow the game on the continent north of the Limpopo.”
Chinhoi managed to win his first ever tournament on the Tour having dominated the Safari Tour of late.
The Royal Harare-based professional has played in two Sunshine Tour tournaments, earning 339.80 points with earnings of R374 0000 and is now second in the Sunshine Tour order of merit.
Schietekat of South Africa is leading the order of merit with 538 points and R519 800 in earnings.
Mahachi said the win in Zambia put Chinhoi in a good position to challenge for other bigger tournaments without having to go through the cumbersome qualifying processes for the next two years.
“The victory puts him in the Sunshine Tour Winners Category 3A, which means more playing opportunities without having to qualify at least for the next two years. This may also present playing opportunities for him in the events co-sanctioned by the DP world Tour in SA.
“The weekend story is also headlined by his massive leap on the World Golf Rankings.
Before the Zanaco Masters, he was Ranked No 2 615 and the victory saw him rise a massive 1,268 places to 1,347 as of Monday 22nd May.
“He is now the fourth-placed Zimbabwean after Scot Vincent (125), Kieran Vincent (425) and Benjamin Fol-let-Smith (703).
“Robson’s exploits seem to have rubbed off on Nyasha Muyambo, who has also made good progress. His 19th finish is massive in an event with a relatively strong field and I hope he will also receive support going forward and so should Biggie Chibvuri, Visitor Mapwanya and other upcoming players,” said Mahachi.
Chinhoi managed to beat Schietekat during Sunday’s final day through play-offs for his first ever Sunshine Tour win.
The 32-year-old was thrilled by his achievement as congratulations poured in for his victory as the local golfing enthusiast showed praise.
“I am just so grateful, I thank God for this victory because it puts my name on the map,” a delighted Chinhoi said. “This win will be life and game-changing for me. I was getting tired of being in my comfort zone, I wanted to go away and play at another level. I managed to lift my game and this week has changed everything.”
While Chinhoi was superb off the tee on Sunday, he putted with computer-like accuracy under the pressure of the final round and a large crowd of contenders.
Young Ryan van Velzen birdied the 18th hole to finish with the clubhouse lead on 16-under and then faced an anxious wait, but Chinhoi and Schietekat did not drop any further strokes, leaving the 21-year-old alone in third place.
Loice Chingono, one of the few professional women golfers in the country, said she was happy for Chinhoi and believes the win will see him compete in more tournaments.
“We are happy for his win. It has been a long time since we had a Sunshine Tour winner from the country and it is good for us as a nation. I think the win will help him continue to work hard and take part in more tournaments,” said Chingono.
Pride Sembo believes the win was welcome for Zimbabwe and will give local professional golfers a challenge as they are now confident it can be done.
“The win is good and we are happy for him as this gives us his peers a challenge to work hard and make sure that we do well in tournaments of such magnitude. As players we get the challenge and we are grateful that he managed to put the country’s flag high. It has been long since we had a local win at Sunshine tour event and I believe this is the beginning of good things to come from local professional golfers,” said Sembo.
Trainos Muradzikwa said he was happy for Chinhoi as he has always improved his game and is likely to continue with his fine form.
“I think he has hit top form and his game has always been consistent and it is through hard work. I hope we will have more players making it to the big stage,” said Muradzikwa.
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