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DPM’S GRANDSON WINS MAJOR TOURNEY

28/03/2023 09:08:00 Sanele Jele

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MBABANE – Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Themba Masuku’s grandson and junior golfer Mongiwetfu Masuku punched above his weight to win his first major tournament in Eswatini.

The 15-year-old golfer carded an impressive 143 gross to win this year’s Swaziland Building Society (SBS) Club Championship. The competition is sponsored by Swaziland Building Society to the tune of E30 000. The highly-competitive tournament was played at Mbabane Golf Course over two days. It was played between this past Saturday and Sunday. The junior golfer beat a strong field of 75 golfers over the two days. The dominant Masuku also won the overall net category on 133 and the Saturday and Sunday, best gross category. This was in addition to a host of other prizes that included the nearest to the pin on holes 8/17. Speaking to the Sports Desk yesterday, the future star said hard work was paying off.

“In the last three months I was in sports school called Balderstone Sports Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa. I am doing grade IX; it’s school in the morning and golf in the afternoon. I have learnt a lot about the sport while in South Africa. These include the basics about golf, mental strength, and the techniques. I also prepared well ahead of the tournament; everything was in sync and it worked up well,” said the junior golfer who is playing on handicap five. His handicap will go down to two after this tournament. Professional golfers play on handicap zero. Asked what his long-term goal, he said. “In the next five or six years, I want to turn professional. My short-term goal is to win the upcoming ESRIC Monthly Mug and I also have an external tournament in South Africa that I want to win,” said the young golfer. Asked which players he looks up to, he said Mandla Junior Dlamini (liswati professional golfer) and Scottie Scheffler. The latter is American professional golfer who plays on the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour. He is the current world number one, first reaching the position in the Official World Golf Ranking in March 2022 and has held that ranking for over 30 weeks. He has won one major championship, which is the 2022 Masters tournament.

The optimistic golfer who won the Nkonyeni Club Championship last year also thanked his parents, High Court Judge Sabelo Masuku, a son to DPM Themba Masuku and his mother Mbali Masuku. He also thanked his local mentor Meshack Zwane. Meanwhile, his mentor Meshack Zwane was happy to see the youngster reaching for the stars. “We started this journey three years ago. He could not hit the ball and I’m really proud of him that he has won a major tournament. He is a product of nomads; the coaches should get the accolades for this achievement,” said Zwane. He said as a country, if coaches and corporate partners invested on development, the future of the sport looked bright. He also urged companies to sponsor more junior local tournaments.

He also spoke strongly against other senior golfers who ridicule these junior golfers. “I want to speak about this strongly; there are some golfers who become jealous of these golfers and tell them that they will not make it; this can drive children away from the sport. Let’s support the junior golfers; they are the future of the sport,” added Zwane. The Mbabane Golf Club Captain Fisiwe Vilane congratulated the winner and all golfers who made the tournament a success. She also thanked SBS for the continued support.