ICTC sponsors pro-golfer Chidale again
Malawi’s sole professional golfer Paul Chidale yesterday flew to Arusha, Tanzania where he will take part in the Tanzania Open, which has drawn seven countries.
The tournament starts this Friday and ends on Sunday with 242 golfers expected to take part.
Chidale will use the tournament to prepare for the qualification of the global showpiece—the Nedbank Challenge—which runs under the Sunshine Tour.
The trip has been fully sponsored by ICTC Malawi.
ICTC Malawi managing director Jane Nthakomwa said they decided to finance Chidale ‘s trip to enable him play against some of the top golfers in southern and eastern Africa so that he grows his game.
“Late this year, South Africa will be hosting the Nedbank Challenge qualifiers and we need Paul to be in shape so that he can qualify for the actual tournament. The Nedbank Challenge is one of the major golf tournaments that pools together top golfers from across the world and is a very rich tournament,” said Nthakomwa.
ICTC, which deals in ICT services and products, including software and hardware, also sponsored Chidale’s trip to Zimbabwe in September where he made his first cut.
She said the Sunshine Tour winner gets $7 million (about K5.1 billion) and golfers finishing in the top 70 get a minimum of $20 000 (about K14.7 million) each.
“So, if Chidale makes the cut, he will be an instant millionaire and will stand on his own. But for him to make the grade, he needs to prepare well and that is why it is important for him to take part in the Tanzania tournament,” she said.
On his part Chidale expressed gratutude to ICTC for the sponsorship.
“This is a great opportunity for me and I will work hard and learn from my fellow professionals. I am grateful to ICTC for this assistance,” he said.
Lilongwe Golf Club (LGC) captain Partridge Shycall believes the one-handicapped golfer has got the potential to do well if well supported.
“He is very good and will go far as a professional. All he needs is more support so that he can be involved in more tournaments.,” said Shycall. n
