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Scott Vincent, he will miss the tournament because of school exams

IT\\\'S an all out assault on the golf course this weekend as the cream of the nation’s amateur golfers battle for honours in the Midlands Amateur Championship in the Lowveld. The tournament, which is one of the tournaments that count towards qualification for the bi-annual Eisenhower Trophy, will be played over 72-holes in line with international standards. The event will run from Friday to Sunday (23-25 July) with 18 holes each on Friday and Sunday while 36 holes will be played on Saturday.

In what must be a first for local golf, the tournament will be played on three different courses - the Hippo Valley course, the Triangle Country Club course and the Mkwasine course. The tournament comes hot on the heels of another major provincial tournament, the Manicaland Amateur championship which was initially scheduled to be contested over 72-holes but ended up being reduced to 54 holes thereby rendering the results of the tournament inadmissible towards the world amateur golf rankings. However, given the success of the Lowveld Pro-Am tournament last year at these venues, it is unlikely that a repeat of what happened in Mutare will be witnessed.

With Scott Vincent\\\'s winning record having been ended sensationally in Mutare last June, the hatful of golfers who had been playing second fiddle to him all year will be fancying their chances in the Lowveld. Of course, Vincent remains a favourite for many - not least because huge won the inaugural Lowveld Pro-Am last year. But the new sensation is most certainly Barry Painting who is now based at Borrowdale Brooke. After Vincent had dominated the amateur circuit for the first five months of the year, it was Painting who brought an end to that outstanding run, winning the Manicaland Amateur tournament with a fantastic 9-under-par 210 on the par-73 Hillside Golf Club course. Painting will be high on confidence going into this weekend\\\'s tournament where another victory would put him in the driver\\\'s seat for Eisenhower Trophy qualification.

The men to watch, however, have to be the Chapman duo of Rogers Jack and Dumi Chitengwa. Both golfers have been in great form of late, with Jack probably the most consistent golfer for the year. Though he is yet to win a tournament this year, Jack has come close on a number of occasions and this coming weekend could just provide him with the platform to excel. Only a fortnight ago, Jack narrowly missed out on a successful title defence at the Bata Power tournament in Gweru to the on-form Chitengwa swept to victory. A few weeks earlier, he had also had a great outing in Mutare where he finished third in the Manicaland Amateur. An improved showing in the Lowveld this weekend should deliver the long-awaited title.

Chitengwa, too, has been in effervescent form of late, following up his Bata Power triumph with a comeback victory at a Chapman Grand Slam tournament that will be remembered more for the chaotic ending rather than for Chitengwa\\\'s classy final round show. On current form, a hat-trick of tournament victories could be on the cards for Chitengwa, provided he takes his form in the 36-hole version of the game to the more taxing 72-hole format.

Other dark horses for the tournament include Dale Howie and Nyasha Muyambo. Howie\\\'s most recent appearance in a provincial ZGA tournament was a runner-up finish in Mutare in the Manicaland Amateur championship in June, an outcome that continued his consistently good showing in local amateur events over the past 18 months. Given that he has been a regular top five player since last year, it is only a matter of time before he starts winning tournaments. This weekend\\\'s Midlands Amateur might just be his breakthrough tournament.

As for Muyambo, a tournament victory continues to elude him over a year after he clinched his last major individual silverware in a joint victory with Scott Vincent in last year\\\'s Dugmore Trophy. It is a cycle that has to end if his career is advance to the next level. Muyambo knows, the golfing public knows...and expects. It is high time he won a big tournament.

Notwithstanding the big names on the local amateur circuit, there could yet be some surprise results in this event given that three different courses will be used for the tournament. Every day will bring with it a fresh challenge in terms of the obstacles and hazards to be navigated through and whoever adapts quickest to the different course conditions will emerge triumphant. This trophy could very well remain in the Midlands - after all, it is the golfers from this region who are more familiar with the three host golf courses.

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