Chronicle EditorMehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
EXCITEMENT is building up in the resort City of Victoria Falls ahead of the Poweride Elephant Hills Golf Classic scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at the Elephant Hills Golf Course where the biggest prize is a car for a hole in one with over 100 golfers confirmed for the two-day event.
A purse of US$5 000 is in store for the professional golfers while a lot of prizes are also in place for the amateurs.
The tournament is sponsored by Poweride Tours in conjunction with Elephant Hills Resort and Conference Centre as well as Alpha Media Holdings.
So far 130 golfers, professional as well as amateur have registered to take part in the two-day event. Locally, the golfers are from Bulawayo, Harare, Gweru, Kwekwe, Hwange as well as Victoria Falls while the foreign contingent is from Botswana and Zambia.
Entry fees have been pegged at US$95 for the two days. For amateurs, the format is an individual stable-ford, there will be four divisions with the women competing on their own and prizes for each of the divisions. One of the major highlights is the hole-in-one prize which is a car, to be given to a player who will play the most perfect stroke. The prize giving will be held on Sunday on a boat cruise.
African Sun Limited public relations and marketing manager Charleen Mtezo said the number of registered players stood at 130 for now even though the course at Elephant Hills can accommodate 160 and flexibility will be exercised if there are still more players interested in taking part.
“We have 130 registered players, our filed capacity is 160 players so we will exercise flexibility. We have golfers from Zambia, Botswana, Gweru, Kwekwe, Harare and Bulawayo,’’ said Mtezo.
Poweride director, Thamsanqa Sikhosana said it was the first time that they are sponsoring such a major golf tournament having funded a mini event at the beginning of this year for Victoria Falls-based professionals.
According to Sikhosana, there are already plans for a bigger tournament next year which should have a package of US$50 000.
“It is the first time to sponsor such a major event. I am a golf fanatic, I have been following golf for years but at the beginning of this year when we had a get together in Victoria Falls, we played golf and then we sponsored a mini tournament then we decided to sponsor a major one. We have already started preparing for a bigger one next year,’’ Sikhosana said.
The Elephant Hills Golf Course, which is home to wildlife has not had any big event since it last hosted the Elephant Hills Classic in October last year, which came shortly after the PPC Zimbabwe Charity Golf Day.
— @Mdawini_29
Bongani Ndlovu