Zimbabwe Golf Association (ZGA) president Martin Chikwanha has expressed delight following the qualification of the country’s leading junior golfers for this year’s Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan after finishing second overall at the All-Africa Junior Golf Team Championship in Johannesburg last Friday.
The boy team comprising Keegan Shutt, Tanaka Chatora, Braydon Amm and Tawana Mangoma produced an impressive final round of two-under par 214 to finish the tournament on a score of 18-over-par 882 and book a ticket to the Junior Golf World Cup scheduled for Aichi-Prefecture, Japan in June.
South Africa who have always dominated the event emerged runaway winners yet again on an incredible four-round total of 22-under-par 842, 40 strokes ahead of their nearest rival Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe will be making a return to the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan for the first time in seven years.
“For so many years we kind of took qualifying for the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup for granted because we were always going there along with South Africa. We thought the rest of Africa will not catch up with us until we lost our position to Uganda just before Covid,” Chikwanha said.
“It was a wake-up call because we didn’t expect Uganda to beat us. We realized that other countries such as Uganda, Kenya and Zambia were improving in terms of junior golf. What was significant for me was to see these young guys fight back and take responsibility, understanding that they are doing it for the country.
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“You could see a positive attitude on their faces and these are attributes that left a mark on me seeing 16-year-olds and 17-year-old fight for the country. It was a big moment for Zimbabwean golf to see such young golfers fight for the country to qualify for such a prestigious event.
“We are very pleased for these young golfers and I hope they continue to improve even when they compete at the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup as well as go on to have successful amateur and professional careers. The Toyota Junior Golf World Cup is a very prestigious event where the best junior golfers in the world compete,” Chikwanha added.
It was the first time that Mangoma was representing the country in such a level while it was a second international event for Amm flying the country’s flag.