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Brandon Moyo, [email protected]

DAVID Amm once again proved why he is one of the country’s finest amateur golfers when he was crowned champion of the 2024 Lowveld Pro-Am Championship which came to an end on Sunday at Hippo Valley and Triangle Golf Clubs.

Amm shot an impressive 13-under-par 203 to win the Tongaat Huletts sponsored championship which is the second biggest tournament in the country after the Zimbabwe Open. He was one shot ahead of second placed Pride Sembo who shot 12-under-par 204.

The championship started last Friday and was played across three days.

A total of 58 players took to the greens and the eventual champion, Amm walked away with a prize money of US$10 000. The sponsors, Tongaat Hulett, poured in US$60 000.

In the first round of the championship, the Chapman Golf Club based Amm shot three-under for a round score of 69. He shot two birdies in his front nine before following it up with three more in his back nine. In the second hole, Amm had his worst, shooting a double bogey.

Following his three-under in the first round, Amm went on to get even better in the second, shooting his best round of the tournament with a brilliant score of seven-under-par 65. He managed to shoot two brilliant eagles on the second and 10th holes while also shooting three birdies in his round.

In the final round, Amm – who has represented Zimbabwe in a number of international events including last year’s World Amateur Team Championships in (WATC) in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) went on to shoot another three-under-par 69. He had five birdies and two bogeys in his front nine. On the back, he managed to shoot two birdies and as many bogeys.

Sembo who also had a brilliant outing in the middle had round scorers of 69, 64 and 71 while third placed 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.

Speaking after the completion of the tournament, Corporate and Industrial Affairs Executive at Tongaat Huletts, Dahlia Garwe thanked all the sponsors that assisted them in making the tournament a success and paid tribute to the Zimbabwe Golf Association (ZGA).

She was impressed with the way things proceeded in the tournament.

“It has been fantastic, we have been overwhelmed by the support, and the number of golfers that came through is amazing so we think that there is room for further growth as we go forward. We also have a number of sponsors that have come on board to help with the hosting of this particular function, so we are really pleased about the outcome and we are pleased as well about the sponsorship that we have received.

“We want to thank our partners, particularly the Zimbabwe Golf Association, they have really come to the party and in fact I would say this is their show and we are the ones assisting them, so we are really excited,” said Garwe.

The ZGA also took time to thank their sponsors for making the tournament a resounding success and the role they have been playing in the development and growth of the sport in the country.

“We would like to sincerely thank Tongaat Huletts for putting together the Lowveld Pro Am. We extend our gratitude to all the sponsors that include, ZB Bank, NBS, Econet, Doves, Nyaradzo Funeral Services, Seal, Old Mutual, Stanbic Bank, CIMAS, NatPak, ETG, Delta, Hwange Colliery, Zuva Petroleum, Ecocash, First Mutual Life and Kynoch. Our sponsors remain a vital cog in the delivery and development of Golf in Zimbabwe. A big well out,” read a statement from ZGA. – @brandon_malvin.