adminfor the field as he romped seven strokes clear of runner-up Ignatius Mketekete who shot 75, 69 and 71 for 215.
Both players earned US$5 400 and US$3 900 respectively for their three days’ work.
Brian Gondo’s 72, 72,72 for even par 216 earned him third position while Mick Hough and veteran Vengesai Phiri were tied for fourth place after shooting 72,72,75 and 71,74 and 74 for 219.
It was a decent outing for young Mahommed Mandhu as he came sixth on a combined 220 for the 54 holes.
After shooting an encouraging 71 and 70 in the first two rounds he would surely feel undone by a sloppy 79 in the final round.
Nyasha Muyambo must also take heart from his performance in Mutare.
The youngster’s 73, 72 and 76 for 221 was good enough for a four- way tie with pre-tournament favorites, Ryan Cairns, Tongo Charamba and Jason Underwood.
Cairns lurked after round one of 72 but could not maintain the momentum with scores of 75 and 74 in rounds 2 and 3.
Tongo Charamba’s uncharacteristic 78 in round one set him completely off the pace.
Although he valiantly tried to claw back into contention with a 71 and 72, it was too little too late.
Jason Underwood’s round one 78 was as equally disastrous at it left him with a mountain to climb to catch up with the leaders.
Once again his spirited 73 and 70 were just not good enough.
After so much promise for his multitude of fans in Mutare, wheels came off for home boy Robson Saurombe.
After sharing the lead on 70 on day one, he followed that with a 3 over 75 and a 5 over 77 to kill all prospects of a decent finish.
Bentley’s 70, 67 and 71 is just the kind of stuff that any golf fan would want to see as sub par rounds of golf can put a golfer into contention or win a tournament any day as is the case in point.
Winning your maiden local PGA Tour title in such emphatic fashion and in a star studded field can only be described as sublime and managing to hold your nerve under seeming pressure from veterans is pure magic.
After shooting 70 and 67, Bentley managed to equal Mketekete’s 71 for a thoroughly deserved 7 strokes winning margin.
There appears to be more good things coming from this youngster. The tournament was sanctioned by the Golden Pilsener Zambezi Tour and bankrolled by the Marange Resources. A total of 53 professional golfers teed off at the event.
Online Reporter