All set for Malawi’s maiden pro golf tour
The Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Malawi says all is set for the Warm Heart Pros Tour which tees off tomorrow at Lilongwe Golf Club (LGC) with over 70 golfers from across Africa confirming participation.
PGA interim president Patridge Shycal said the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism Francis Kasaila will tee-off the four-day tournament this morning at 8am before presiding over a dinner at Umodzi Park from 6.30pm.
He also said six Malawian golfers—Paul Chidale, Adam Sailesi, Victor Kachepatsonga, Kondwani Mphula, Gabriel Kambalame and Shycal himself—will take part in the event.
“We have over 70 golfers that have confirmed participation. The only ones that are doubtful are from Nigeria and Ghana due to visa complications. Otherwise, we are set.
“Apart from the six Malawian pros, we have also offered about four outstanding local amateurs an opportunity to take part for exposure,” he said.
The PGA chief said the 18-hole LGC course and all the other logistics have been finalised.
In an interview yesterday, Chidale who is the top-ranked golfer on the domestic scene, said: “I will not just be a mere participant, but a competitor. In fact, I am looking beyond making a cut, I want to win one of the top prizes on home soil.”
Among the foreign pros scheduled to take part are Zimbabwe’s Tongoona Charamba who became the third black golfer to win on the Sunshine Tour when he claimed the South African Airways Pro-Am in 2006 and another Zimbabwean Ryan Cairns.
The main sponsores of the event are Umodzi Park which comprises Bingu International Convention Centre, The President’s Walmont Hotel and Presidential villas, TNM plc, FDH Bank, Airtel Malawi, Toyota Malawi and Department of Tourism. The winner is expected to receive $7 000 (about K5.1 million) while the runner-up will get $6 000 (about K4.4 million).n
