The five amateurs selected to tee off at this year’s tournament are Tawana Mangoma, Blessing Gondo, Shepherd Chiwaya, Thomas Sinclair and Tariro November. In a statement, ZGA president Blessmore Gandawa said he is confident that the selected players would be able to compete at such a high level. “The selected are all top Amateur players who are on the World Amateur Golf Ranking and it is our expectation that they will be able to compete at that level as they are already seasoned players that we have on our circuit,” said Gandawa. He added that the players will gain invaluable experience from playing alongside top professionals. “It is going to an exciting time for the players as they will get to rub shoulders with the professional players hence they will gain invaluable experience which dovetails well with the Local High Performance programme they are in. It is also an opportunity for us to test, measure and assess the progress that we are making with regards to developing our Golfers into world class athletes,” said Gandawa. Zimbabwe also has a team competing at the Region 5 Golf Championship in Eswatini. The regional tournament is set to run from Monday until Saturday (May 4–9) at Ezulwini Golf & Country Club. The selected national team is made up of Munesu Chimhini, Vincent Chidambazina, Nathan van Rooyen and Kelvin Muchenje. Stalline Masiya is the team manager and head of delegation. Gandawa said he’s confident that the players will be able to fly the Zimbabwean flag high at the tournament. “The selection of the players was based on merit, current form of the players and we are convinced that these players will represent the country and the Association well,” said Gandawa.