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Brandon Moyo, [email protected]

INSPIRED by President Mnangagwa’s philosophy, “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabaninilo,” Zimbabwe Golf Association (ZGA) vice president, Stalin Masiya, has said they are determined to take the sport in Zimbabwe to new heights.

Masiya was speaking during the closing ceremony of the 2024 All Africa Golf Team Championship (AAGTC) that was held at Bulawayo Golf Club last week.

The biennial premier continental tournament was won by South Africa – who reclaimed the top accolade after they had lost it to Morocco in 2022. Masiya said they are looking at taking golf in Zimbabwe to the top.

“Our president says, ‘Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabaninilo’ meaning the country will be built by its owners.

“ZGA will develop its own golf to reach where we want it to be, which is at the top. On our next event, Zimbabwe will take it,” said Masiya.

Having played a crucial role in the organisation and running of the tournament, Masiya expressed gratitude to all those who played a part in making the event a success.

“Bulawayo Golf Club, thank you very much for hosting us, we heard golfers talking very good about the course. I know a tournament like this can’t run perfectly smooth, there are also glitches here and there, so if you experienced any glitches, I express my apologies, we will try and do better next time,” he said.

Eleven countries participated at the biggest amateur golf event in the continent. ZGA stepped in after initial hosts Mauritius withdrew due to natural disasters.

This was the second time that Zimbabwe hosted the biennial continental showdown, having first done so in 2017 at Elephant Hills Golf Course in Victoria Falls. Africa Golf Confederation (AGC) president, Johnson Omolo, was charmed by the high standards of golf in Zimbabwe.

“Zimbabwe is an integral part of golf development in Africa. Outside South Africa, in this region, we have Zimbabwe with one of the biggest golf infrastructures in Africa. The team at ZGA led by Martin Chikwana has done a tremendous job.

“We have seen Zimbabwe host the All Africa Team Championship in Bulawayo. Most countries host these events in their capital cities. By hosting this event in Bulawayo, it’s the demonstration of the confidence that ZGA has in their infrastructure, which is at championship level.

“We are also aware of the challenges that Africa is going through in terms of resource mobilisation, but we are grateful to ZGA and the golfing fraternity for maintaining the infrastructure to be playable,” said Omolo.

The Zimbabwean team finished in third place, behind Zambia and winners South Africa. Zimbabwe were four shots behind second-placed Zambia and a massive 35 strokes behind South Africa.

The hosts finished the tournament on 14-over-par 878, while second-placed Zambia were on 10-over-par 874. South Africa finished on 21-under-par 843 to reclaim the coveted title, which they have only lost once.

It was an improvement for Zimbabwe, who finished fifth in the previous edition held in Egypt in 2022. On the individual leaderboard, Zimbabwe captain Michael Wallace finished tied for third place with South Africa’s Astin Arthur.

South Africa’s Jordan Burnand won the individual event after a play-off had to separate him and counterpart, Ivan Vester.
The duo had finished on identical scores of nine-under-par-279.

Burnand won the play-off after shooting an eagle on the par-five 18th hole. The 2026 edition of the AAGTC will be hosted in Tunisia.  — @brandon_malvin