SO the same old story of underperforming by local players in the Zambia Open Golf Championship has continued.
It is sad that out of 26 local players, who included 12 professionals, only Dayne Moore qualified to compete in the final 36 holes at the Mopani Copper Mines 2014 Zambia Open Championship which concludes today at Nkana Golf Club in Kitwe.
This shows that there is a lot we need to do as a nation to help address this issue which to some extent is embarrassing.
There are so many factors which have been left unchecked and have continued to contribute to the poor showing by our golfers.
Firstly, our players are only active once every year during the Zambia Open while their competitors feature in at least two to three events every month.
For example before coming for the Mopani Zambia Open Championship, the professional golfers on the Sunshine Tour were just fresh from participating in the Swazi Open, just a few weeks after competing in Zimbabwe.
Because our players do not feature in many events, it is difficult for them to perfect their game.
While we appreciate the efforts put up by the Sports Council of Zambia (SCZ) this year in helping the local professionals be better prepared, I think those arrangements were just not adequate enough to make the players battle-ready.
Unlike most golfers on the Sunshine Tour circuit, who have individual sponsors, the story is different for Zambians, who to some extent even face difficulties in just travelling from their respective bases to the venue of the competition.
Apart from struggling with mobility, there is also another issue of accommodation and other costs associated with such events.
Another pertinent matter is that Zambian players do not have psychologists to help strengthen them mentally before participating in these lucrative tournaments.
Mind you some of these local professional players were caddies before turning into golfers, hence the need to work on their mindset.
Understandably, there is a lot at stake in terms of monetary gain for golfers who make the cut after two rounds of the tournament but it will be almost wishful thinking to expect a poorly prepared player to compete favourably against highly-motivated opponents.
I can only hope that the Zambian golf authorities and SCZ can come on board and help our troubled players participate in as many international events as possible.
It is my prayer that local players would put up an improved showing at next month’s Zambia Sugar Open in Lusaka.
I conclude by congratulating the 21-year-old Moore for doing the nation proud through his performance which will see him pick the $5,000 prize for the best Zambian performer and another amount for his personal achievement at the Mopani sponsored tournament which ends today.
E-mail:malungaf@gmail.com