Wingate Golf Club golfer Shepard Chiwaya is set to participate in the second edition of the African Amateur Golf Championship which will take place at Leopard Creek in South Africa early next month.
Chiwaya was one of the top performers on the local amateur circuit after he won two events, the Julius Robinson and the Harare Amateur Championship as well as seven top-10 finishes after taking part in at least eight competitions last year.
The Africa Amateur Championship will be played at Leopard Creek in Mpumalanga, South Africa from February 5 - 8, 2025.
It will feature 72 men from the Africa region competing in a 72-hole stroke play format with the winner receiving an exemption into The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush.
An invitational event for 21 elite women from the region will also be held at the same venue during the week of the championship.
The Zimbabwe Golf Association (ZGA) wrote to Wingate Golf Club to notify them about Chiwaya's participation in the annual continental championship.
"We are delighted and elated to inform you that one of your members Shepherd Chiwaya was selected to participate in the African Amateur Golf Championship set for 5-8 February 2025. The tournament will take place at Leopard Creek Golf Club in Mpumalanga, South Africa.
"This tournament is meant for the African champions who would have either won the National Championship or they would have to be in top 1000 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking and Shepherd was sitting on position 466. This is not only a demonstration that Shepherd is a good player but also that he can compete at the highest level in Amateur events," ZGA said.
Zimbabwe is one of the most represented countries at the tournament with a total of eight golfers set to fly the flag.
Some of the golfers who will take part in the African Amateur Golf Championship include Tanaka Chatara, Vincent Chidambazina, Darlington Chikanyambidze, Kelvin Muchenje, Keegan Shutt, Michael Wallace and Elton Zulu.
Last year, Matthew Bamford had an impressive tournament after he finished fourth in the inaugural event while Shutt, shot the course record of 10 - under par 62 settling for a two-way tie for eighth place.
