Zim Open to be launched today

nine years off the radar.
The Open, Zimbabwe’s premier golf competition, runs under the Sunshine Tour banner.
The minimum prize money required by the Sunshine Tour is R1 million.
The last two seasons, Africom were the official sponsors but are understood to have failed to have stepped aside.
Delta, Econet, Innscor and South African Airways were partners and it is understood that one of them is taking over as the flagship sponsor.
Delta are the main sponsors the local Zambezi Tour through their Golden Pilsner brand.
The Open was one of the country’s premier sporting events before it crashed, along with the country’s economy, around the turn of the millennium.
The Zimbabwe Open began in 1984 and was part of the then Safari Tour — a collection of events in Africa that played by professionals on the European Tour during the winter season.
It went on the European based challenge tour in 1991, where it remained for two seasons before moving to the FNB Summer Tour, which became the Southern Africa Tour and latter the Sunshine Tour.
On its return in 2010 the Open had a R1,2 million purse and it improved to R1,250 million last year and this year it remains to be seen what amount will be on the table.
A good sponsorship this year will see top golfers converging next month for another high profile event.