By SHAMAOMA MUSONDA –

AS the Lusaka Golf Club Pro-Am tees off today, Zambia Sugar Open organising committee chairperson Roy Penny says local golfers are not yet ripe to stake a claim at the two prestigious Zambia Open tournaments.
Penny said the Zambian golfers’ levels could not be compared to those on the Sunshine Tour as they were wide apart due to the lack of competition.
He said Zambian professional golfers played just two competitive tournaments each year, while most professionals on the Sunshine Tour played a tournament every week throughout the year.?Penny said at a media briefing in Lusaka yesterday that the only way Zambian golf could improve was by having a lot more tournaments with foreign players who were better to help raise the standards.
“When we are saying a local should win the Zambia Sugar or the Mopani Open, I think we are not being fair. We are asking for too much, there isn’t good enough competition in Zambia for one to go and win any of these two tournaments,” he said.
At the just ended 2015 Mopani Copper Mines/Redpath Zambia Open Golf Championship held in Kitwe, just two Zambians, Madalitso Muthiya and Patrick Mwendapole junior, managed to make the cut out of the 30 golfers.?Penny was, however, hopeful that the Zambian players would perform better at the Zambia Sugar Open which tees off this morning with a Lusaka Golf Club Pro-Am.?And Stanbic Bank yesterday donated K75,000 towards hosting of the six-day tournament that ends this Sunday.
Stanbic head of global marketing Victor Chileshe said he was excited to be part of the Open that brings many players from many across the world.
Meanwhile, 2015 Mopani Copper Mines/Redpath Zambia Open Golf Championship winner Ross McGowan will light up the Lusaka Golf Club Pro-Am which tees off this morning with an exciting blend of local and foreign professionals as well as amateurs taking part.
Ross will go into the field with Martin Ryan and Geit van der Walt, while Patrick Mwendapole senior will be in a team with Zhou Jianjun, Wang Zhiqiang and Allan Nyirenda.?In all, 152 players will go out in the field today including six Zambian professionals who include Beza Daka, Dayne Moore and Kelvin Phiri.
The Lusaka Golf Club Pro-AM will tomorrow be followed by the Zambia Sugar Pro-Am?before the tournament proper starts on Thursday.