THE Zimbabwe Open Committee (ZOC) has challenged the government and the corporate world to help the country’s flagship golf event, the FBC Zim Open, grow to become part of the DP World Tour, formerly the European Tour.
With FBC Holdings as the title sponsors for the past three years, the Zim Open has continued to grow and has become one of the best tournaments on the Sunshine Tour.
The group has continued to increase the prize money in the tournament after investing US$200 000 for the 2025 edition.
While ZOC is happy with the growth of the tournament since its relaunch in 2010, it believes the event can go on to attain DP World Tour status.
“It has grown quite significantly, and we are very pleased with the progress. It is a brand in its own right, and raising money from sponsors becomes easier because it is something they have seen run successfully and expertly over many years, thanks to the transparency that goes with it,” ZOC chairperson Livingstone Gwata told Independent Sport.
“However, every open tournament in any country aspires to rise to the highest international levels. As it stands, it is the Zimbabwean tournament, co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour. The Sunshine Tour is the biggest tour on the continent and certainly a very significant tour worldwide.
“But the next step would be to have it co-sanctioned by what is now called the DP World Tour, which used to be the European Tour. That is how tournaments grow. To give you an indication, to be a fully-fledged DP World Tour event, you need a minimum prize fund of €1 million. That is quite a high amount compared to what we are raising now.”
He added: “But it can be done. It is done elsewhere on the African continent. In Kenya, they have a European Tour co-sanctioned event because of the big corporates with deep pockets there. Not only that, Kenya’s Ministry of Tourism, through their equivalent of our Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, controls their industry and raises US$4 million to invest in this tournament.
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“So, the prize money is €1 million, but the other staging costs require this additional amount. That is the national government’s doing (in Kenya). We are still far from that. It is achievable, but I would think the government has other priorities at the moment. Yet, Kenya’s government also has other priorities but still does this for their country. So, we need many more stakeholders on board to reach that level.”
Gwata is the man responsible for reviving the Zim Open in 2010 after a nine-year absence due to the country’s economic instability. Twelve editions have been held since then.
A couple of years ago, ZOC expressed the desire to have the tournament on the DP World Tour by 2024, but that dream is yet to be realised.
Currently, the DP World Tour has three sanctioned events in Africa: the Nedbank Golf Challenge, the Alfred Dunhill Championship, and the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.
The Zimbabwe Open has been part of the South Africa-based Sunshine Tour since 1993 before being cancelled prior to the 2002 event due to economic challenges.
In the meantime, the event enjoys strong support from the corporate world in Zimbabwe, with Zimre Holdings Limited coming in as the associate sponsor for the second consecutive year, while Golden Pilsener, Cimas, and Firstlink Insurance Brokers are anchor sponsors.
Zuva Petroleum, Cimas, Liquid, African Sun, Guard Alert, AMH Media, Rooney’s, Lighthouse, Nomads, Speedlink Cargo, and Sahwira Events and Lifestyle are also partners of the event.
A total of 144 golfers, including 17 local professionals and five amateurs, will take part in the event, which will run from May 4 to 11 at Royal Harare Golf Club.
