By SHAMAOMA MUSONDA  –
THE Zambia Golf Union (ZGU) has challenged local professionals to step up their game so that the country can finally have a local player winning the Zambia Open Golf tournaments.
ZGU honorary secretary Kelly Munsaka said yesterday that local professionals have not lived up to the expectations in the last few years with the amateurs now performing better than them.
Munsaka appealed to the Professional Golfers Association of Zambia (PGAZ) to ensure that the local professionals do not just fight to make the cut at this year’s Zambia Open but also target to win the championship.
“It doesn’t sound good but that’s a fact. Local professionals have not lived up to expectations. We are now having more amateurs making the cut at the Zambia Open. In fact last year, the amateurs did better that the professionals.
“Actually we should reach a level where we do not look forward to players making the cut but getting a Zambian to win either of the two Open tournaments we host,” Munsaka said.
During the 2015 Mopani/Redpath Zambia Open held in Kitwe that saw 30 Zambians enter the competition, only Madalitso Muthiya, a professional and amateur Aaron Simfukwe made the cut.
The 2015 Zambia Sugar Open in Lusaka saw four Zambians making the cut and these were professionals Muthiya and Dayne Moore and Abhinav Walia and Cosmas Mufaya as the amateurs.
Meanwhile, Munsaka expressed happiness that the sport made some good strides in 2015 like fulfilling all local international fixtures but these were punctuated by some low points.
Munsaka said the union was proud to have hosted the two international Opens including the Mopani/Redpath sponsored tournament which is one of the richest tournaments ever hosted in Southern Africa.
He said the country hosted the All-Africa Junior Championship for the second time in a row at which Zambia again finished third.
“It was sad that despite picking up a bronze medal, we failed to qualify to the World Championship which required us to finish in the top two,” he said.