Trio excels in golf circuit
Amanda Kagiso | Saturday May 7, 2022 06:00
Maru Chokwe, Lone Masalila, and Edwin Madigela have been the stand-out performers thus far. Chokwe, 14, has done well, finishing in the top five in the women's section during the Jwaneng Open.
She also represented Botswana at the Africa Junior Championships held in Egypt where she finished in position 23 out of 27 in March. She has recovered very well since then and won the Botswana Amateur Open after winning in the women's section last weekend. She competed in the main draw winning against both the junior and the senior women. She won with 85 gross shots scored on Saturday and 84 gross shots scored on Sunday. In the junior boys' section, 17-year-old Masalila has been making steady progress.
The teen was placed fifth in the just-ended Botswana Amateur Open, making him the best placed of all juniors who participated. He played in the senior category and became the last junior standing by scoring 74 gross shots on Saturday and 84 gross shots on Sunday. He is currently playing to improve his rankings if he has any hopes to play in the upcoming Junior championships in Egypt. He needs to break into the top four of the rankings to realise his dream. Masalila told Mmegi Sport he has hopes of playing professional golf. 'My love for golf started at an early age. My dream is to play professionally and break all barriers,' Masalila said. As for Madigela, known as 'Scavenger' in the golf fraternity, he is currently Botswana's number one amateur golfer. He continues to prove his might after winning three tournaments in a row.
He won the Festive Open, the Jwaneng Open at the beginning of the year, and the Botswana Amateur Open held at the Stanbic Bank Gaborone Golf Club last weekend. As he heads his way to the All Africa Senior Championships to be held in Egypt in October this year, a lot is expected from him. The next stop of the BGU Series tour is the Selebi-Phikwe Amateur Open. The Selebi-Phikwe golf course promises good tee locations and a considerably good green size that will have golfers from around the country flock to the former mining town.
A good turnout is expected just like the Gaborone leg that attracted over 100 players. BGU president, Modiri Phuthego said with golf being a non-contact sport, they managed to keep going despite the impact of the pandemic. 'Fortunately because of the nature of our sport, it has been easier to social distance while playing so even during the rise of COVID-19, we have held some tournaments under strict restrictions hence our players haven't suffered too much loss of game time,' Phuthego said.