It was an opening day which delivered high stacked action. Four players, Tyronne Ryan, Doug McGuigan, Luis Carrera and Austin Bautista are tied for second place after all carding five-under-par-67 under the scorching sun of the capital. With a four-way tie for second, there is a three-way tie for sixth position with MJ Viljoen, Christian Basson and Warwick Purchase all shooting an opening round 68. This year’s edition of the Zimbabwe Open, which is the 2025/26 Sunshine Tour season opener features a strong field of 156 golfers, including 11 amateurs. Ryan’s first 18 holes of the tournament comprised four birdies and two eagles which came on the par-five third and 16th holes. He also shot three bogeys. McGuigan’s round comprised seven birdies and two bogeys while Carrera shot seven birdies, including five consecutive on hole numbers two, three, four, five and six. He also shot two bogeys. Bautista’s opening round saw him shoot five birdies and an eagle on the par-five 12th hole. He also had two bogeys. Nyasha Muyambo and Ryan Cairns, tied for position 14 are the highest placed Zimbabweans after 18 holes of golf. The duo shot an impressive two-under-par-70 while Visitor Mapwanya and Robson Chinhoi are tied for position 29 are carded one-under-par-71. Among the amateurs, Michael Wallace, Keegan Shutt, Tanaka Chatora and Devon Valentine lead the group with a first round score of 75. After a tough round, Shutt reflected on what could have been. Speaking after the end of the first round, Shutt said the score is not a true reflection of how he played but is confident that he will be able to come back stronger in the second round. “I struggle today, i was four-over through 10. I managed to bring it back to two-over through 13 and i just slipped out on five, six, seven for birdie and then that kind of killed it and i just finished off with a bogey on nine which didn’t help me at all, finishing three-over for the day. “The game was there, i just got unlucky in some places and i just busted and fall and it was that type of day. I played well, but the score doesn’t show how i played, but hopefully tomorrow, if i play the same the score will show how i played,” said Shutt. Kelvin Muchenje, who teed off at 06.20am said the early start affected him. “My first round was good, it’s just that we started at a very nasty time at 06.20am. We played the first five holes in cold conditions but the greens were nice in the morning. Thereafter, i think that’s where i lost it. I dropped so many shots in the first five holes,” he said. A total of 156 golfers, including 11 amateurs, are competing in this year’s event.