Tariro November and Yollander Mubaiwa won the inaugural Munhumutapa Strokeplay Championship which was held at ZRP Golf Club in Harare over the weekend. The competition which was entered by both male and female Golfers drew a huge field of 104 participants from all over the country.

This Tournament was recently conceived by the National Golf Controlling body the Zimbabwe Golf Association is meant to celebrate Zimbabwe’s rich history and legacy. It is registered on the World Amatuer Golf Ranking and Local Order of Merit. Speaking during the colorful prize giving ceremony the Zimbabwe Golf Association Vice President Dr Munodawafa Mutopo emphasized the need for the Golfers to play all the tournaments so that they could earn points on both WAGR and Local Order of Merit.

‘It is pleasing to note that we had a field of slightly over 100 players battling it out and what was more exciting was that the Ladies were playing alongside their male counterparts which is in sync with one of our values that is Inclusivity.

‘To this end I would like to encourage the players to ensure that they play all the tournaments since they are all registered on the World Amatuer Golf Ranking and Local Order of Merit. This will enable us to select the players that will represent the country on foreign assignments, we will use the Order of Merit and the WAGR points earned to determine who will represent us’ Dr Mutopo said.

Tariro November who is already a WAGR ranked player was all smiles as he was coming from South Africa where he participated in the SWING Tournament in Mpumalanga and Durban attributed his victory to hard work. November won the tournament with an overall score of 229 points over the three rounds that he played

‘My victory is attributable to the hard work that I always put in when I am in training and also during competitions. It was not easy but I keep on focusing and I want to encourage my fellow Golfers to keep on working hard.  My scores were not too bad but I am going to keep on working hard so that they improve’ added November.

Yollander Mubaiwa who was playing her second tournament alongside her male counterparts was also overjoyed to have won the tournament though she reckoned that she needs to improve so that she could be a WAGR ranked player as she need to have shot + 8 par or better to qualify to be on the WAGR.

‘It was such an honour to play in a mixed field with men, that definitely made more interesting, fun, and competitive. It brought something different to the gamer of Golf in Zimbabwe as we now have something to play for World Amatuer Golf Ranking )WAGR).

‘I know I didn’t quite play well for various reasons; however, I am going to work even harder so that I make it on to WAGR’ said Mubaiwa

Another highlight of the tournament was 11 year old Nathaniel Zidya who plays off a handicap of 9 at Chapman he played 54 holes.  

In the Teams Warren Hills ruled the roost and the runners up were FALCON Golf Club. The next tournament will be held on 18 and 19 March 2023 at Kadoma Golf Club.