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Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWEAN professional golfer, Benjamin Follet-Smith won the Sunshine Tour – Cape Town Open tournament which ended on Sunday at Royal Cape Golf Club in South Africa.
The Zimbabwean international finished with a gross total of 273 points and -15 under par to take home the title by just one stroke. Follet-Smith has become only the second player in history to win two Cape Town Open titles after winning it for the first time in 2019. The other golfer to do so is Juan Carlo “JC” Ritchie, a South African who triumphed in 2020 and 2021.
He finished the first round with a score of 68 points and followed it up with a second round total of 72 points. In the third outing, the Zimbabwean international managed to pile up a round score of 67 points.
In the fourth and final round, Follet-Smith closed with 70 points to win on -15 under par to make it two victories after his success in 2019. He now has a DP World Tour card which enables him to play anywhere in Europe.
Speaking after the event, Follet-Smith, who went into the final round tied for a lead with South African professional golfer Darren Fichardt said he was excited to have won the tournament for the second time and believes he has proven himself.
“I am so happy to be a two-time winner on the Sunshine Tour.
I think the second time you win is when you really prove yourself, Cape Town is such a special place and I love coming back to this golf course, I feel very at home here,” he said.
After winning the title coming from having been through Zimbabwean structures, Zimbabwe Golf Association (ZGA) president Martin Chikwana said it speaks to the importance of having good structures at junior level.
“It’s one of those things that helps you realise the importance of structures like junior golf development and the pathways in which ZGA plays a part in creating to enable those youngsters to flourish.
We don’t normally play a big part when it comes to wins like this because these youngsters put in a lot of hard work to get to where they are and they have management teams that ensures that everything they need is provided for and of course parents who offer a very significant part in ensuring that these guys go out and perform week in and week out.
“Benjamin is one amongst the few that has gone through our pathways and you have seen Robson Chinhoi who has been doing wonders on the Safari Tours in Kenya where he has been winning left right and centre and of course we have our number one golfer in the country Scott Vincent who has also been raising the flag and underneath those guys.
They have gone through under the development programs run by ZGA so we are quite humbled and yet we are quick to realise that we only provide pathways, the rest which is the bigger chunk is provided for by all those partnerships that I have mentioned (parents, management teams),” said Chikwana.
Follet-Smith was followed by Ugo Coussaud from France and South Africa’s Jaco Van Zyl who were tied on -14 under par. — @brandon_malvin
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