•RYAN Abel hoists the trophy after winning the MTN Golf Day at Nkana Golf Club in Kitwe on Friday as MTN chief marketing officer Clement Asante (middle) and senior manager commercial Komba Malukutila look. Picture by ISAAC MUKANDO.

By ISAAC MUKANDO –
LUSAKA’S Ryan Abel on Friday scooped the MTN Golf Challenge second leg to win himself an all-expenses paid for trip to the United States of America (USA) to watch the prestigious 2015 PGA Tour, US Open Championship.
Abel, who also won the first leg held at the Lusaka Golf Club in September 19, completed a double after amassing 44 points at Nkana Golf Club in Kitwe.
The 29-year-old Abel, who is clubless, said he hoped to take his winning luck and skills to Lusaka Golf Club when he joins the club.
Miliase Siame, Joseph Mwanza and Matenge Kaira also picked up some awards during the prize-giving ceremony.
MTN Zambia chief marketing officer, Clement Asante said the mobile phone service provider was committed to developing and maintaining a sound relationship with the golfing fraternity which made up a large part of its community.
Asante said the mission of MTN was to make lives of the customers brighter by ensuring the money raised from the tournament was channelled to charity.
MTN senior commercial manager, Komba Malukutila said over the past few years the company had shifted its focus which had seen its golf days transformed into fundraising events aimed at raising money for charity such as rehabilitation of golf courses.
Meanwhile, SHAMAOMA MUSONDA reports that Madalitso Muthiya yesterday shot a moderate third round one-under-par 71 score to give him an overall two-under at the R1.5 million-rich Lion of Africa Cape Open Golf tournament that ends today in Cape Town, South Africa.
After a relatively disappointing start to this tournament with a three over-par 75, Muthiya produced an impressive four-under-par on Day-Two to get to one-under, a score that was enough to beat the cut by a stroke.
According to the Sunshine tour website, the cut, set at level par 144, was, however, a bit too steep for Ndola golfer Dayne Moore, who after starting with four-over in round one, added a six-over 78 in the second round to finish with a poor 10-over par 154 and missed the cut by 10 strokes.
As Moore missed the cut, Muthiya was left to carry Zambia’s flag and yesterday finished one-under-par 71 to give him an overall two-under.
That score was dwarfed with a look up the leaderboard where the frontrunners were running off with a 12 under-par three round score.
Muthiya started with a birdie on the first hole but dropped that shot on the par-five seventh for a level going into the back nine where he picked up one more shot on the long hole 16th to get the one-under he finished with.
The K855, 000-rich tournament which ends today saw defending champion Tjaart van der Walt ending Day-Three on eight-under-par, with five of those strokes picked yesterday.