Tongaat Hulett vows to continue supporting golf

FOLLOWING the successful hosting of the country’s second biggest golf tournament over the weekend, the Lowveld Pro-Am at Hippo Valley and Triangle Golf Clubs, tournament sponsors Tongaat Hulett have vowed to continue supporting the sport in the country.

Tongaat Hulett were the major sponsor of the golf tournament, which attracted close to 60 golfers from around the country, with some coming from neighbouring countries.

Despite having been involved with golf in the past, Tongaat Hulett, through their, Corporate and Industrial Affairs Executive Dahlia Garwe said they will consider the recent championship an inaugural event considering a long hiatus.

Garwe, speaking after the completion of the tournament said they are hoping to make the tournament an annual event, which will be a permanent feature on the Zimbabwe Golf Association (ZGA) calendar of events. She said their aim is to continue supporting golf in the country.

“We used to host this particular Lowveld tournament some years ago but for various reasons it was stopped. So this particular one, we are actually calling it the inaugural Lowveld Pro-Am Golf Tournament because we are reviving it, we are starting again and we are hoping that we will be able to continue going forward,so next year, we will be here again as we run this tournament.

“The intention is to make this an annual event without fail, so this one, is the first one and next year we intend to hold the same around the same time and we want to make it an annual fixture on the golfing calendar,” said Garwe.

She added that there is a lot of potential among the youth and they would like to offer them the platform to showcase their skills. Garwe, said there are plans in place to help grassroots golf while also assisting in other avenues.

“We realised that there is a lot that should be done to help the less privileged in our community and in this particular case we are looking at the medical side of things. So what we are looking at is improving the medical facilities in particular but what I’m also excited about is improving golf appreciation in the young generation.

“We have got a lot of potential in our young people and we would like to exploit that, and to see more talent rising and give them that opportunity. So we are raising funds to actually start a junior golfing programme,” she said.

The ZGA, building up to the tournament, expressed its gratitude to Tongaat Hulett for their continued support of the sport.

The recently ended tournament was won by David Amm – who shot an impressive 13-under-par 203 and was one shot ahead of second placed Pride Sembo. who shot 12-under-par 204.

In third place there was Sydney Wemba from Zambia shot six-under-par 210. In fourth place there was Tongo Charamba who shot

five-under-par 211 while fifth placed Visitor Mapwanya shot four-under-par 212.

There was a three-way tie for sixth place with Morton Kombai, Tranos Muradzikwa and Tonderayo Musunga all shooting a three-under-par 213 score. Liberty Gumisa, Tafara Mpofu and Mohammed Mandhu were tied for ninth place, all shooting two-under-par 214.

Hosting the tournament in the Lowveld also showcased that there are many golf courses in the country and served as an inspiration to many aspiring golfers.–@brandon_malvin