HARARE - Zimbabwean golfer Ryan Cairns has shifted base to the United States in an effort to take his promising career to the next level.
Harare-born Cairns, who played played on the Sunshine Tour until recently, was the best Zimbabwean golfer still plying his trade on the African continent.
“After an unforgettable year full of highs and lows I am now taking the leap of faith to continue my playing career in America; basing myself in Raleigh, North Carolina from Wednesday before teeing it up in the PGA Tour Latino America Qualifying School in Peru next month,” 29-year-old Cairns posted on his Facebook page this week.
“Thank you all for the unbelievable support in 2013 guys, it really made the good weeks feel great and the bad weeks somewhat bearable.
“Happy holidays, be safe and muchos love!”
The Latino Qualifying School is one of qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the US based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the tour for the following season, otherwise known as a "tour card," meaning that they can play in most of the tour's events without having to qualify. They join the leaders on the previous year's money list/order of merit and certain other exempt players as members of the tour.
Cairns’ post on Facebook drew a variety of comments from friends and family, with Liverpool and Zimbabwean football legend Bruce Bruce Grobbelaar one of them:
“Ryan with thy beard you'll look the part in the Latino Qualifying School. Good luck young man. We are proud of you & what you do for all Zimbo's around the world. Pamberi ne Ryan ne Zimbabwe!
“Thank you for your love and support guys (as always!)... It is going to be the biggest test of my career and mental-strength as I will be starting at the bottom again but look forward to every challenging moment of it, both on and off the course as well as all the hard work that it is going to take for me to achieve what I am setting out to do over there... Big love to you all and make sure that wherever you are in the world that you bring in 2014 in style!”