Zimpapers Logo

Takudzwa Chitsiga Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Junior Golf Association have named the team for to the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup at the Chukyo Golf Club, Ishino Course, Japan.
The event will be held from June 24 to 27 and the top four players — Stuart Krog, Justin Kersten, Kieren Vincent and Mbongeni Maphosa — will represent the country.The team will leave the country on June 19.

Countries like Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, Thailand, United States and Venezuela are expected to feature in the tourney.

Krog is the leading junior golfer in the country and was crowned Junior Golfer of the Year at a national golf awards ceremony last week hosted by the Zimbabwe Golf Association.

He also impressed as he represented the country at the All Africa Youth Games in Botswana where he won a bronze medal.

He finished second in the All Africa Golf Challenge on the final cumulative individual leader-board after shooting 78, 71, 70, and 75 for a total of 294 and only two shots behind Jovan Rebula of South Africa.

Also in the top 10 at the All Africa Junior Golf Challenge in Lusaka was Kieren Vincent who shot a total of 300 to finish tied in sixth place for the individual scores.
Kersten won the Matabeleland Amateur Championship at the Bulawayo Golf Club last week.

Maphosa finished 11th at the Curro SA Junior International Tournament in Langebaan, Cape Town, South Africa.

“When you look at it, we have a team of players who are at the top of their game,” said Brian Maphosa, the President of Zimbabwe Junior Golf Association.

The Toyota Junior Golf World Cup 2013, supported by Japanese Airlines, is the world’s only junior golf championship in which 15 national teams — winners of regional qualifiers held across six continents and featuring over 60 national teams — compete for the world championship.

The first tournament was played in 1992 at the Taisha Country Club in the City of Izumo, Japan.

The United States won this three-day event.

In 2002 Toyota announced a five-year commitment as Title sponsor.

South Africa had been Africa’s lone participant since 2008 and has one victory to its name when the country won the tournament in 2001.

South Africa’s 2001 championship-winning team featured Louis Oosthuizen who was to be a future British Open winner and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel.