Tue, 25 Apr 2017 08:07:50 +0000
By MICHAEL MIYOBA
ZAMBIA Sugar Open 2017 chairman Roy Penney said he was impressed with the levels of competition exhibited among the golfers during the pre-qualifiers played yesterday at the Lusaka Golf Club.
Penney said the qualifiers were very comptitive and involved golfers from around the world.
“It’s very impressive. The pre-qualifiers have been competitive. We had golfers from countries as far as Sweden who took part in today’s event.
“It’s unfortunate that no Zambian was able to qualify from the pre-qualifiers but we still have a lot of local golfers who will represent the country during the main event,’’ he said.
Penney said the pre-qualifiers have given local golfers who failed to progress to the main event the experience required for future events.
“The pre-qualifiers have given the local golfers the opportunity to compete with foreign golfers. It has given them the experience and the exposure needed for future events,” said Penney.
Eight golfers qualified and joined 144 golfers that will compete at the 2017 Zambia Sugar Open which tees off on Thursday. The pre-qualifiers, which saw more than 60 golfers competing for the eight slots, began on a poor note for Zambian golfers who could not make it to the main event.
Simon Ngige, Ruan Hugsamen and Peter Gustafsson topped the charts after hitting 72 -1’s respectively.
Simon Ngige got a 72-1 from the strokes taken in all the 18 holes.
Ruan hit a 1 under in the first hole, got a par in hole three and five and a boogie in hole eight while Gustafsson got a boogie in hole three, a par in hole 4, a two under in hole five and a par in hole 10.
The eight golfers join the 144 golfers who earned direct entry in this year’s Zambia Sugar Open, to bring the total to 152 golfers to compete at this year’s event.
