THE second consecutive Sunshine Tour will start in Windhoek as part of the MTC PGA Championships this morning, with a whopping N$500 000 set aside for the various winners.
The event kicks off with a MTC Pro-Am this morning, which will be played over two rounds. The competition will be decided over 54 holes of stroke play.This year’s event attracted a total of 144 professionals of which the Namibian line-up consist of top golfers such as Trevor Dodds, Joe Nawanga, Schalk van der Merwe, Jaco van Reenen, Alex Williams and Adri Basson.Nawanga played in last year’s tour and in the process secured himself a sponsorship deal with MTC.Nawanga, who started his career as a caddie in Swakopmund, is one of the hopefuls alongside veterans Dodds and Basson.Alex Williams is one of the younger competitors and is capable of producing the goods.Other top professionals come from countries such as the United States, England, Germany, Scotland, Kenya, South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland and Malawi.After 36 holes there will be a cut to the leading 55 professionals and those who tie on the score.In the event of a tie there will be a sudden-death playoff on holes to be determined by the tournament director.A total of 36 Pro-Am teams will play a four-ball alliance stableford competition with the best two scores on each hole to count.Pro-Am prizes will be awarded to the leading five teams.The leading three gross scores of professionals in the Pro-Am day will see the winner walk away with N$3 500, second place N$2 500 and the third place N$1 000.The first professional to record a hole-in-one during the final round of the tournament on the 9th hole, will win a Volvo S40 2,41 (manual) valued at R237 000.Last year’s inaugural event was won by 29-year-old Mark Murless, who came from two shots behind at the beginning of the day to end a title drought that dates back to his breakthrough win at the 1996 Platinum Classic.The MTC Namibian Championship, is the 12th Order of Merit event on this year’s Sunshine Tour winter swing schedule.With only three events remaining on the winter schedule, the MTC Namibian PGA Championship has a pivotal role to play in the Winter Tour Order of Merit race.The race concludes at the end of October with the season finale Platinum Classic, rewarding the Winter Tour Order of Merit winner with a coveted spot into the US$5-million HSBC Champions Tournament in Shanghai, co-sanctioned by the Sunshine, European, Asian and Australasian Tours.The MTC Namibian PGA Championship, which is sanctioned by the Namibia Professional Golf Association, was established in November 2003 with a view to developing both professional and amateur golf in Namibia.- Additional Information from Southern Africa PGA TourThe competition will be decided over 54 holes of stroke play.This year’s event attracted a total of 144 professionals of which the Namibian line-up consist of top golfers such as Trevor Dodds, Joe Nawanga, Schalk van der Merwe, Jaco van Reenen, Alex Williams and Adri Basson.Nawanga played in last year’s tour and in the process secured himself a sponsorship deal with MTC.Nawanga, who started his career as a caddie in Swakopmund, is one of the hopefuls alongside veterans Dodds and Basson.Alex Williams is one of the younger competitors and is capable of producing the goods.Other top professionals come from countries such as the United States, England, Germany, Scotland, Kenya, South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland and Malawi.After 36 holes there will be a cut to the leading 55 professionals and those who tie on the score.In the event of a tie there will be a sudden-death playoff on holes to be determined by the tournament director.A total of 36 Pro-Am teams will play a four-ball alliance stableford competition with the best two scores on each hole to count.Pro-Am prizes will be awarded to the leading five teams.The leading three gross scores of professionals in the Pro-Am day will see the winner walk away with N$3 500, second place N$2 500 and the third place N$1 000.The first professional to record a hole-in-one during the final round of the tournament on the 9th hole, will win a Volvo S40 2,41 (manual) valued at R237 000.Last year’s inaugural event was won by 29-year-old Mark Murless, who came from two shots behind at the beginning of the day to end a title drought that dates back to his breakthrough win at the 1996 Platinum Classic.The MTC Namibian Championship, is the 12th Order of Merit event on this year’s Sunshine Tour winter swing schedule.With only three events remaining on the winter schedule, the MTC Namibian PGA Championship has a pivotal role to play in the Winter Tour Order of Merit race.The race concludes at the end of October with the season finale Platinum Classic, rewarding the Winter Tour Order of Merit winner with a coveted spot into the US$5-million HSBC Champions Tournament in Shanghai, co-sanctioned by the Sunshine, European, Asian and Australasian Tours.The MTC Namibian PGA Championship, which is sanctioned by the Namibia Professional Golf Association, was established in November 2003 with a view to developing both professional and amateur golf in Namibia.- Additional Information from Southern Africa PGA Tour
