By FELIX MALUNGA –

AS the Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) was pumping $25,000 (about K190,000) into the Mopani Copper Mines/Redpath Mining Zambia Open Golf Championship yesterday, the Zambia Golf Union (ZGU) unveiled a team of local players to fight for honours in the prestigious tournament.
CEC joined the growing list of sponsors coming on board to partner with Nkana Golf Club in Kitwe to stage the richest-ever Zambia Open with a prize money of $300,000 (about K2.2 million).
With all the goodwill coming from the corporate world for this championship scheduled for April 23-26, ZGU also announced the local squad of amateur and professionals to battle for national pride in Kitwe.
ZGU honorary secretary, Kelly Munsaka said the union was optimistic the local players would do the nation proud both at the Mopani/Redpath Zambia Open and the Zambia Sugar Open events.
The 10 amateurs to be led by 2014 ZGU Order of Merit winner, Aaron Simfukwe Jnr are Kelly Tembo, Gabriel Chibale, Peter Munyinya, Boyd Kapalamoto, Denmark Mulambo, David Ng’andu, Abhinav Walia, Matengele Kaira and Sydney Wemba.
Munsaka named the 10 local professionals as Kelvin Phiri, Mohammed Zulu, Beza Daka, Patrick Mwendapole, Bruce Chanda, Jason Taylor, Bube Samutela, Geoffrey Banda, Aaron Simfukwe Snr and Gibson Saloba with the reserves being Steven Mbewe, Obed Sholoma and Francisco Banda.
Zambia’s top golfer, Madalitso Muthiya will come through the Sunshine Tour roster while another local star, Dayne Moore will participate as one of the ZGU’s five special invitees from the region.
Moore has been invited alongside South Africa’s Langley Perrins, Tongoona Charamba of Zimbabwe, Swaziland’s Arthur Charamba and Jacob Okello of Kenya.
Title sponsors, Mopani and Redpath also decided to invite Daka as a special invitee despite the Kitwe professional qualifying for the event.
Munsaka said because of this development, the Zambia Professional Golfers Association would pick one of its reserves to replace Daka on the 10-man lists for local professionals.
Also invited by the sponsors for the cosmopolitan championship being defended by Wallie Coetsee are South African Professional Golfers Association members, Gian Carlo, Michael Scholtz, Alan Mitchel and James Lorum of Kenya.
A total of 144 golfers will slag it out during the $1.1 million (about K8.3 million) rich Mopani/Redpath Zambia Open to be preceded by two Pro-Ams – Zamtel on April 21 and MTN Zambia/EC Mining on April 22.
Meanwhile, eight players will represent Zambia at the 2015 Zone Six Golf Championship to be held in Kampala, Uganda.
The team coached by Sholoma has Tristan Brice, Kelvin Chibuye, Munyinya, Kapalamoto, Mulambo, Simfukwe Jnr and captain Chibale.
Munsaka said ZGU was confident that the team currently shaping up at the Lusaka Golf Club would bring back honours to Zambia.
He said the squad to be led by a ZGU official was expected to leave on Sunday for Kampala ahead of the April 13-17 tournament.
Since some of the top amateur golfers will be in Uganda on national duty, Munsaka said ZGU decided to postpone this weekend’s Choma Open Championship to a later date.