Botswana golfer regains form in Sunshine Tour
Calistus Kolantsho | Wednesday April 16, 2014 10:23
Botswana Golf Union (BGU) secretary general, Mpho Kelosiwang said after a mediocre start in which Smith missed the Johannesburg Open and Africa Open qualifiers by one stroke, the golfer has been working hard. Smith competed in the Dimension Data tournament at Fancourt in South Africa in March, but failed to make it to the top. Kelosiwang said last week, Smith made his first break of the year when he made it to the Telkom PGA qualifier at Johannesburg Country Club, a co-sanctioned European Tour event. “To top that, Smith made the cut for earnings after two rounds on -2, and went to finish tied 56,” he said.
Kelosiwang said after the tournament, Smith headed to Harare for the Zimbabwe Open, last week. The golfer managed a -6 score after round two where he was tied in 12th place going into the weekend. He finished -2 and T39.
“I lost the putter a bit on Saturday and Sunday. I have something to work on while I prepare for the Swaziland Open in two weeks time.
I really want to do well in that one before I head up to Kitwe in Zambia for the Zambia Open,” Smith said in an interview with OCS-Sport.com. Smith is Botswana’s top ranked tour golfer. He has been on the Sunshine Tour for two years. The tour is an expensive venture that has proved daunting for local professional golfers. Steve Smith, PGA Botswana chairman who assists Stuart, told Mmegi Sport that most players in the tour are sponsored. He pointed out that Stuart’s earnings for a fairly successful two weeks barely tops P20,000, which basically covers costs. “Unless you are making the top 10 every week, you are probably covering your basic costs only,” Steve explained.
He said golfers who made the cut in the Zimbabwe Open but performed poorly made around P2,000.
“That barely covers entry and caddie fees for the week, so it is really tough unless you get right up there early on, or have a break, which only very few can achieve,” said Steve.
He said that the financial challenges can daunting for even the most talented golfer who is starting out.