High-riding Williams angles for greatness

Takudzwa Chitsiga Sports Reporter
AFTER improving on the Sunshine Tour order of merit standings with his Tshwane Open performance, Zimbabwe’s highest ranked professional golfer Mark Williams hopes to continue from where he left off in the 2017 Mopani Redpath Zambia Open which tees off tomorrow morning. The golf tournament has a $300 000 price money.

“We are committed to meeting the standards set when Nkana last held the event in 2015 despite coming in at short notice as hosts,” Zambia Open organising committee chairperson Emmanuel Mutati told the Zambian media.

“We will certainly not reduce the prize money, the least we can do is to maintain it, and we have to raise the bar we set for ourselves in 2015. We will certainly not reduce the amount.’’

Williams, ranked 49, is the top-ranked local professional after his 12th place finish at the last Sunshine Tour event, the Tshwane Open, and will be expected to do well in Zambia.

The Mopani Redpath will be staged at the Nkana Golf Club in Kitwe with more than 150 top professionals fighting for honours and Williams will have countrymen Ryan Cairns, Greg Bentley and Mohammed Mandhu for company.

Now representing Pecanwood Golf Estate, Williams has participated in 23 event this year.

He has made a number of cuts.

But he will have to contend with several players from the Gary Player Class of 2017-18 development initiative in his Zambian adventure.

These include Keenan Davidse, Makhetha Mazibuko, Lindani Ndwandwe, Toto Thimba, Jacquin Hess, Sipho Bujela, Gerard du Plooy, Omar Sandys, Musiwalo Nethunzwi, Altaaf Bux, Dwayne Basson and Irvin Mazibuko.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe-born Dean Burmester returned into the top 100 weekend on the European Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA championships, at Wentworth Golf Club.

The Tshwane Open champion carded a seven-under-par 65 in the final round to climb into a share of ninth place behind winner Alex Noren of Sweden who blitzed the field with his closing course-record 62.

For Burmester, it was the continuation of a great year on the European Tour as he posted his third top-10 finish to go with his Tshwane victory.

He climbed 18 positions on the Official World Golf Ranking to 94th and will hoipe to take that form into the US Open Sectional Qualifying event at Walton Heath in England.