Zimbabwe Open
The Zimbabwe Open is a professional golf tournament held in Zimbabwe. It was first played in 1984 and from 1985 to 1992 was part of the Safari Circuit, a collection of events in Africa that were played by professionals based on the European Tour during their winter. In 1991 and 1992 the event was also part of the Challenge Tour. From 1993 it moved onto the First National Bank Tour, which was later renamed the Sunshine Tour.
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Location | Harare, Zimbabwe |
Established | 1984 |
Course(s) | Royal Harare GC |
Tour(s) | Sunshine Tour (since 1993) Challenge Tour (1991–1992) Safari Circuit (1985–1992) |
Format | Stroke play |
Prize fund | R 2,000,000 |
Month played | April |
Tournament record score | |
Aggregate | 266 Nick Price (1995) |
To par | −22 Nick Price (1995) |
Current champion | |
When it was held in the weeks preceding the Nedbank Golf Challenge, the tournament attracted some of the world's leading players, as they used it as a warm up to the big money invitational. Past winners include major winners Vijay Singh and Nick Price who, along with Mark McNulty, is the most successful player at the event, both men having recorded three victories. Ryder Cup player Gordon J Brand is also a past winner.
Due to economic instability in Zimbabwe the tournament lost sponsors and was cancelled prior to the 2002 event. There were many attempts to resurrect the tournament, but none were successful until 2010.[1][2][3] The 2019 edition was also cancelled because of a lack of sponsors caused by a weak economy.[4]
Winners
Year | Winner | Country | Venue | Score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Old Mutual Zimbabwe Open | ||||||||
2018 | Bryce Easton | Royal Harare | 272 | −16 | 1 stroke | |||
Zimbabwe Open | ||||||||
2017 | J. C. Ritchie | Royal Harare | 272 | −16 | Playoff | |||
Golden Pilsener Zimbabwe Open | ||||||||
2016 | Lyle Rowe | Royal Harare | 277 | −11 | 2 strokes | |||
2015 | Dean Burmester | Royal Harare | 272 | −16 | 1 stroke | |||
2014 | Jbe' Kruger | Royal Harare | 270 | −18 | 1 stroke | |||
2013 | Jake Roos | Royal Harare | 274 | −14 | 1 stroke | |||
2012 | Chris Swanepoel | Royal Harare | 273 | −15 | Playoff | |||
Africom Zimbabwe Open | ||||||||
2011 | Theunis Spangenberg | Royal Harare | 201 | −15 | 2 strokes | ^ | ||
2010 | Jbe' Kruger | Royal Harare | 269 | −19 | 2 strokes | |||
2002–2009: No tournament | ||||||||
CABS Old Mutual Zimbabwe Open | ||||||||
2001 | Darren Fichardt | Chapman | 275 | −13 | 3 strokes | |||
2000 | Mark McNulty | Royal Harare | 269 | −19 | 1 stroke | |||
Zimbabwe Open | ||||||||
1999 | Jean Hugo | Chapman | 271 | −17 | 2 strokes | |||
1998 | Nick Price | Royal Harare | 271 | −17 | 5 strokes | |||
1997 | Nick Price | Chapman | 269 | −19 | 2 strokes | |||
1996 | Mark McNulty | Chapman | 270 | −18 | 4 strokes | |||
1995 | Nick Price | Royal Harare | 266 | −22 | 1 stroke | |||
1994 | Chris Williams | Royal Harare | 272 | −16 | Playoff | |||
1993 | Tony Johnstone | Chapman | 273 | −15 | 8 strokes | |||
1992 | Mark McNulty | Royal Harare | 272 | −16 | 9 strokes | [5] | ||
1991 | Keith Waters | Chapman | 282 | −6 | Playoff | [6] | ||
1990 | Grant Turner | Chapman | 281 | −7 | 1 stroke | [7] | ||
1989 | Vijay Singh | Chapman | 282 | −6 | 2 strokes | [8] | ||
1988 | Roger Chapman | Chapman | 275 | −6 | 1 stroke | * [9][10] | ||
1987 | Gordon J. Brand | Royal Harare | 277 | −11 | Playoff | [11] | ||
1986 | Stephen Bennett | Royal Harare | 277 | −11 | 2 strokes | [12] | ||
1985 | Malcolm MacKenzie | Chapman | 281 | −7 | 3 strokes | [13] | ||
1984 | Anderson Rusike (a) | Royal Harare |
^ – Weather shortened to 54 holes.
* – Two holes were unplayable on day one.
a – Amateur.
References
- "Zimbabwe Open to bounce back". Zimbabwe Independent. 30 July 2004. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
- "Zim Open hits a bunker". Zimbabwe Standard. 13 June 2005. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- "Zimbabwe Open to bounce back". Zimbabwe Herald. 10 October 2009. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- "Financiers pull plug on Zim Open". 25 July 2019.
- "Zim golfers stage big win" (PDF). The Namibian. 16 January 1992. p. 11.
- "Scunthorpe's Waters on the crest of a wave". The Guardian. 14 January 1991. p. 15.
- "England's Grant Turner". The Glasgow Herald. 15 January 1990. p. 19.
- "In Harare, Zimbabwe". The Sydney Morning Herald. 31 January 1989. p. 41.
- "Roger Chapman". The Glasgow Herald. 22 February 1988. p. 10.
- "Richard Fish". The Glasgow Herald. 19 February 1988. p. 39.
- "Tournament favourite". The Glasgow Herald. 23 February 1987. p. 10.
- "Zimbabwe Open goes to Bennett by two strokes". The Glasgow Herald. 24 March 1986. p. 13.
- "Mackenzie hooks his way to victory". The Glasgow Herald. 1 April 1985. p. 13.
External links
- Sunshine Tour – official site