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Marc Cayeux……Zimbabwe’s torch bearer once again

Zimbabwe’s top golfers found the going tough on the Sunshine Tour circuit last week with Marc Cayeux once again turning out to be Zimbabwe’s torch-bearer with a modest top 25 finish in the first of the six-event R440, 000 Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour Free State that ended at Bloemfontein Golf Club on 4 April.

The tournament was won by former South African Motor Cross champion, Dion Fourie, who completed the tournament on an impressive 15-under-par 201 following rounds of 66, 66 and 69. Fourie took home a R69, 740 cheque for the victory. Jean Hugo, who is a familiar name in local golfing circles, was tied for second place with fellow South African Chris Swanepoel two shots further back on 13-under-par 203. The duo earned R42, 900 each.

Cayeux, who was one of only two Zimbabweans in the final 72-man field for the 54-hole event that was hit by a spate of late withdrawals, had done well in the first two rounds carding impressive scores of 69 and 68 for a 7-under-par 137 total. That meant he went into the final round on Saturday tied for 14th position with 10 other golfers including the South African duo of Jaco van Zyl and Lindani Ndwandwe. But a faltering final round 72 cost him dearly as he slipped to a tie for 25th position on 7-under-par 209.

That earned Cayeux another R4, 627.33, taking his total earnings for the year so far to R313, 727.33 from nine tournaments. He remains in 15th position on the latest Sunshine Tour moneylist.

While Cayeux was putting up another strong showing, Tongo Charamba, who had finished fourth at the Zambia Open just a week earlier, could not quite match his performance in Zambia and failed to make the cut at the tough Bloemfontein Golf Club course. The hugely affable young golfer carded rounds of 72 and 70 to finish joint 50th on 2-under-par 142.

Indeed, it was always going to be a tall order for the Zimbabweans bidding for the honours in one of the most prestigious events on the Sunshine Tour circuit whose mini order of merit makes it unique. Despite the series of withdrawals that included the likes of South African hot-shot golfers, James Kamte, James Kingston, Louis Oosthuizen, Michiel Bothma, Brazilian Adilson Da Silva and Zimbabwe’s own rising star, Ryan Cairns, competition was still stiff as players sought to get some points on the board.

The next Sunshine Tour event is the second leg of the Vodacom Origins Tour series that will be held at the acclaimed Pretoria Country Club from 23-25 April. Several Zimbabwean golfers have been listed among the entries for the tournament including Cayeux, Charamba and Ryan Cairns who returns to Sunshine Tour action after missing the Bloemfontein event. Other Zimbabwean entries include Mike Curtis, Sean Farrell, Ignatius Mketekete and rookie Robson Saurombe.

The Pretoria leg of the Vodacom Origins Golf Tour Pro-Am series will be followed by three more events at Selborne Country Club, Arabella and Humewood before the final leg at the St Francis Links. The professionals are awarded points for their finishes in each of the six tournaments in the series as well as this year’s Vodacom Championship, which was played in February. The golfer who finishes top of the series after the final tournament in October will earn a R100 000 bonus.
Zimbabweans ranked on the Sunshine Tour:

15th – Marc Cayeux; 50th – Ryan Cairns; 84th – Tongo Charamba;110th – Sean Farrell
128th – Shane Pringle; 158th – Tony Johnstone; 162nd – Mike Curtis

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