Online Reporter
Takudzwa Chitsiga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE Open Golf Committee member, Chaka Dziradzemhuka, has tipped local golfers to do well at the FBC Zimbabwe Open Golf Championships at Royal Harare.
The country’s premier golf tournament tees off tomorrow and will run until Sunday.
Zimbabwean professionals have not won the tournament on the home soil in over 15 years but they are this year expected to turn the tables.
Nziradzemhuka said they have a great chance to have a local player on the podium.
The FBC Zim Open Championship returns to the picturesque Royal Harare greens with several slots for local professionals and five for top amateurs.
“I think we have a chance and the guys have been working hard.
“Since the confirmation of the tournament, everyone has upped their preparations.
“We have players who are capable of competing against the world’s best.
“It has been a long time since a local player took to the podium on home soil.”
He added:
“The prize money is lucrative and it will draw a lot of top players, which will make the 2026 edition a competitive one.
“There have been some new sponsors coming on board which shows that the corporate world has faith in us.
“We have been having some local tournaments and some players taking part in the Sunshine Tour, Safari Tour and the Big Easy Tour. So they are up there.
“It has been long since we had a local player winning the tournament and I am hopeful we will make it this time around.”
The Zimbabwe Open was last won by a local golfer in 2000 when Mark McNulty dominated the prestigious tournament.
The late Anderson Rusike won the inaugural edition of the Zimbabwe Open in 1984 as an amateur.
From 1985 to 1992, it was part of the Safari Circuit, a collection of events in Africa that were played by professionals based on the European Tour during their winter.
In 1991 and 1992, the event was part of the Challenge Tour before it moved to the First National Bank Tour which was later renamed the Sunshine Tour in 1993.
When it was held in the weeks preceding the Nedbank Golf Challenge, the tournament attracted some of the world’s leading players, as they used it as a warm-up to the big money invitational.
Past winners include Major winners Vijay Singh and Nick Price who, along with McNulty, is the most successful player at the event.
Both men have recorded three victories apiece.
This year Zimbabwe will once again look forward to Kieran Vincent, who is doing well on the Asian Tour.
Darlington Chikanyambidze, Robson Chinhoi, Nyasha Muyambo, Ignatius Mketekete, Visitor Mapwanya, Benjamin Follet-Smith and Ryan Cairns among several golfers expected to give it a crack.
Chinhoi was the highest placed Zimbabwean on the leader board, in a tie for seventh last year, while Stuart Krog finished in 20th place.
