It was smiles all round for youthful debutants Marcus Smith, Mpho Orapeleng, and Ishmael Nfila as they put on national team suits and ties for the first time. The youngest team member, Smith, is based in Pretoria, South Africa, where he competes in weekly tournaments. He is a university student there. Last year he took part for the first time in a junior event held in Zimbabwe. Another youthful golfer Walter Seokemong joined the team on Sunday after Peter Podise failed to pitch up for the training camp.
Other team members are veterans Joe Marudu, Lucas Diane and the youthful Phenyo Lekgoa. Coach Onel Mokgosi told the gathering at a cocktail party that after finishing seventh out of 18 countries last year, Botswana's aim now is to finish among the top five. Mokgosi said one of the reasons why he quit active golf was to dedicate his time to improving the national team. "Last year we came seventh out of 18 countries. We will beat that position," he said with confidence.
Meanwhile, the team received a boost from diamond mining company, Debswana, which donated travel bags and golf equipment. Asset management company Bifm also bought golf shirts and caps for the squad. Botswana Golf Union (BGU) president Derek Musa urged the golfers "to go out there and compete".
" Last year you set a new record by finishing seventh, which was the best position by the team in many years, we expect you to better that performance this time around, we expect you to compete well against South Africa, which has been number one for more than six years now," he said.
Musa also appealed to the golfers to be true ambassadors of Botswana in their conduct on and off the greens throughout the tournament. "Respect your manager and the BGU official who will be accompanying you". Bifm representative Tebogo Hirtchfield also urged the team to bring home a medal for the first time ever. The company sponsors the annual Ladies and Legends tournament, which is played in August.
According to the team manager, they were expecting to play their first match yesterday. The tournament ends this Thursday.
