HARARE - At least 141 entries have been confirmed for this year’s Sunshine Tour-sanctioned Golden Pilsener Zimbabwe Open golf tournament to be held at Royal Harare between from April 14 to 17.
Dean Burmester will be defending the title he won last year.
Burmester finished the tournament on 16-under 272, one stroke ahead of Brazilian Adilson da Silva, who was on 15-under.
Since winning Zimbabwe’s premier golf tournament, Burmester went on a wonderful run in the Sunshine Tour circuit.
The Zimbabwe-born golfer, who now represents South Africa, won the Lombard Insurance Classic, Sun Windmill Challenge and the Vodacom Origins — Koro Creek to cap off an unforgettable year for the Bloemfontein-based pro.
He also won the Chase to the Investec Cup to pocket a R4 million bonus after finishing with the highest number of points.
Burmester was also the biggest winner at the end of year Sunshine Tour awards gala where he landed all the top gongs.
He took the Gary Player Trophy for the best stroke average of the 2015 season (69.34 over 59 rounds of tournament golf), the Media’s Player of the Year as voted by members of South Africa’s golf journalists, the Players’ Player of the Year which is an accolade from his fellow professionals, and the Commissioner’s Award.
Two-time Zimbabwe Open champion Jbe Kruger will be hoping to win the tournament for the third time as he is among the strong field.
On the local front, Mark Williams, who has become the leading Zimbabwean on the Sunshine Tour circuit, is also among the entrants for this year’s competition.
Williams currently sits in 14th place on the Sunshine Tour order of merit after raking in close to R600 000 in the six tournaments he has played.
The other leading local pros in the 2016 edition field include Ryan Cairns, TC Charamba, Brian Gondo, Greg Bentley, Robson Saurombe and Mohammad Mandhu.
There is also a place for former leading local amateur Scott Vincent, who turned pro last year.