Online Reporter
Brandon Moyo, [email protected]
RORY MCILROY’S recent Masters win completed his career Grand Slam, a feat achieved by only six golfers ever, and only him and Tiger Woods in the last 50 years. This highlights the tragedy of Lewis Chitengwa, a talented young Zimbabwean golfer once tipped for world number one who died aged 26 in 2001. He is famously remembered for beating Tiger Woods at the 1992 Junior Orange Bowl.
Mike Moraghan, his former coach at the University of Virginia, remembers legendary figures in golf insisting that Chitengwa, who would have been 50 this year, possessed the talent to win major championships.
“It was a devastating loss for thousands of people who knew and loved him, as well as a tragedy for golf. Having at one time or another beaten every great player of his generation, Lewis appeared destined for success on the PGA Tour. Fellow Zimbabwean Nick Price, a three-time major winner, and South African Gary Player, who collected a career Grand Slam, both insisted many times in the years that followed that Lewis would have won majors,” Moraghan wrote on the Global Golf Post.
Beyond his memorable Orange Bowl victory, Chitengwa achieved another significant milestone in 1993 by winning the South Africa Amateur Championship, becoming the first black golfer to claim the title. He is remembered not only for defeating the legendary Woods but also for triumphing over the barriers of apartheid. His former coach, Moraghan, recalled his own reservations about Chitengwa competing in South Africa at that time, highlighting the sensitive political climate.
“I knew enough about South Africa to know that it was still operating under the segregationist system of apartheid — not just unfriendly to black people but downright oppressive. The country reeked of institutional racism, resettlement camps with miserable conditions that millions of blacks were forced into and treated like cattle. South Africa was a pariah, shunned and boycotted by democratic nations, and it was only slowly, grudgingly beginning to change.
“My words came slowly as thoughts turned from golf to basic safety. Lewis, why are you going to South Africa? I asked. I am going to play in their national championship, he said. Lewis, what do you think the South Africans will say when a skinny black kid from Zimbabwe comes in and wins their national championship?
“Lewis actually laughed before replying with his customary humility. ‘Oh, Coach Moraghan, you know this is a very difficult tournament — 72 holes of stroke play just to make match play. Thirty-two will qualify and then it’s two matches each day with a 36-hole final. And many good players. A very, very strong field. I will do well just to make match play’,” Moraghan recalled his conversation with Chitengwa ahead of his trip to South Africa.
Upon arriving at the East London Golf Club for the tournament, Chitengwa was initially mistaken for a caddy by a security guard. However, his presence went on to inspire numerous black South Africans, who turned out in large numbers to support him. Moraghan, recounted how the crowds joyously filled the greens to celebrate his historic championship victory.
“Over the course of that week, Lewis had become an inspiration, a hero to every black caddie and domestic worker and to thousands beyond the club as word spread of this extraordinary young man doing the unthinkable. When he closed out his opponent, Hugo Lombard, on the 34th hole to win, four and two, his gallery of black caddies and maids rushed the green in celebration. Shouting, singing, dancing and crying, they quite literally carried him off the golf course.”
Chitengwa himself described that moment in his essay as the greatest of his life.
“The president of the South African Golf Federation announced Lewis Chitengwa as the South African Amateur champion and his wife presented me with the trophy. This was an emotional moment. Lifting that trophy was such a great feeling of accomplishment and personal satisfaction.
“Becoming the first black to ever win this significant national championship was the greatest day of my life and a dream come true,” wrote Chitengwa.
Chitengwa continued his amateur success by winning the Zimbabwe Amateur title for a third time, alongside numerous prestigious collegiate awards in the USA. Turning professional in 1998 after graduating, he competed on the Sunshine Tour, Korn Ferry Tour (then Buy.com Tour), and the Canadian Tour. He also gained some exemptions into PGA Tour events, leading Moraghan to believe it was just a matter of time before he earned full PGA Tour membership.
“And then, suddenly, it all came to a terrible end. In June 2001, after back-to-back top-10 finishes in British Columbia, Lewis was again in the hunt at the Edmonton Open. He followed up an opening round 70 with 67 on Friday before falling ill on Friday evening.
“On Saturday, he was rushed to an emergency room where he died that afternoon. Meningococcal meningitis, a deadly bacterial disease that had been lingering in the Edmonton area for close to a year, had killed 26-year-old Lewis Chitengwa,” Moraghan recalled.
For Moraghan, Chitengwa’s South Africa Amateur victory during apartheid held a significance akin to Jesse Owens’ triumphs at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in front of Adolf Hitler, or Joe Louis’ knockout of Max Schmeling, Hitler’s favoured heavyweight boxer. It was a powerful statement against racial prejudice through sporting excellence.
“Yes, I loved Lewis as if he was my own son. For years I struggled to watch the PGA Tour knowing that he would have been — should have been – out there,” Moraghan said.
