The Botswana golf team once again finished in position five at the just ended Zone VI tournament in Gaborone. The team had hoped to at least finish in the top four, but it was not to be as they finished in position five, the same position that they obtained last year. Botswana was fifth out of a total twelve countries that took part. They finished behind champions, Kenya, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Despite finishing in position five the Botswana team’s performance was very impressive this year.
Some of the local golfers who played exceptionally well were Phenyo Lekgowe, Mpho Kelosiwang, Stuart Smith and Peter Modisi. For many years, South Africa has been dominating the tournament. But this year they were muscled out by Kenya.
The Kenyans also improved their game as they have been obtaining position two and three behind South Africa. But this year they went all and managed to win the tournament.
They will host the tournament next year, and they have promised that they will vigorously defend their title.
Almost all the Kenyan players who spoke to Sunday Standard attributed their win to the competitive tournaments they take part in back in their homeland. They gave an example of the Kenya Open which they said attracts many players from around the world. They said that they learn a lot from playing with such top players.
It has become evident that competition in the tournament is becoming intense as the winning margins are getting narrower every year. This shows that many countries are now taking the tournament seriously. The teams that took part in the tournament praised Botswana for successfully hosting the tournament and said they have a lot to write home about Botswana. Other countries that took part in the tournament are Mozambique, Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Tanzania.
