TOP Zimbabwean amateur Michael Wallace continued with his impressive season on the local circuit after he scooped the FBC Elephant Hills Open at Elephant Hills Golf Course on Sunday.
Wallace managed to shoot 73, 73 and 71 in three rounds to comfortably win the tournament by 21 strokes ahead of his nearest rival Forbes Korekore from Falcon Golf Club in Harare.
Korekore carded 78, 79 and 81 for a gross total of 238 in 54 holes. Joseph Phiri finished third, three shots behind Korekore after rounds of 83, 81 and 77.
It was Wallace’s second win of the season after he won Roland Park Open two months ago.
Wallace was also playing the FBC Holdings Group-sponsored event for the fourth consecutive year.
“It feels really great to win this tournament. It was my first time playing on this course and it was a bit challenging trying to figure out where to hit the shots. It’s quite a big tournament and I am grateful to the sponsors who made it possible,” Wallace said after the event.
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The win comes barely a week before the All Africa Golf Team Championship tees off at Bulawayo Golf Club and Wallace is part of the team that will be flying the country’s flag at the continental championship.
“It means a lot and the confidence is pretty high going into the All Africa Golf Team Championship to be able to play well, be competitive against other countries and give confidence to my team to win the tournament,” he said.
The FBC Elephant Hills continues to grow in stature and this year it carried points for the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
At least 130 golfers registered to take part in the competition and 21 of them were in the championship division.
“We are proud title sponsors of the 2024 FBC Elephant Hills Open. We have been sponsoring for the past three years. We take a lot of excitement in the growth that we continue to see in this tournament. The number of participants continues to grow and it is through everyone’s support that we are recognising the status that this tournament is getting in golf,” said Roy Nyakunuwa, FBC group head of marketing and public relations.
“The FBC brand is synonymous with golf. We are also the title sponsors of one of the premier golf tournaments in the country, the FBC Zimbabwe Open. We have been title sponsors for the past three years and next year, we are also in as title sponsors. It is our aspiration to continue to uphold the success and development of golf in Zimbabwe.”
Other sponsors of the event include Africa Sun, Wild Horizons and Ingwebu Beer.