The growing international footprint of the Sunshine Tour was nowhere more evident than on day one of the FBC Zim Open as Tomas Gana, a professional from Chile, opened with a seven-under-par 65 to lead the first round at the Royal Harare Golf Club on Thursday.
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Gana, the winner of the 2017 Latin America Amateur Championship who also played in The Masters that year, earned his Sunshine Tour playing privileges when he finished tied fifth at the recent Theo Manyama Qualifying School.
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Playing in his first tournament of the new season, Gana rolled in six birdies and an eagle, with only one bogey on the scorecard to lead by one stroke from a chasing pack of six players that includes the South Africans Merrick Bremner, Jaco Prinsloo and Ryan van der Klis, as well as last year’s runner-up, Austin Bautista from Australia, Germany’s Allen John and another Chilean in Gabriel Morgan.
Bremner, a seven-time winner on the Sunshine Tour, was more than happy to be in contention after a challenging past few seasons for him personally.
“The last year has obviously been a bit tough. I went through the process of getting tested to be able to donate a kidney to my wife, which I did in June last year. I had about five months off without playing golf. When I returned it didn’t go the way I envisioned or planned, but I just kept grinding, practising and staying positive. Luckily, I’ve managed to put a couple of performances together.”
Bremner took full advantage of an early start to set the clubhouse target.
“I started early on the 10th tee. It was bit cool and windy – just enough to keep you interested and awake. It was a nice day. I kept the ball in play well, hit a bunch of fairways and greens, and managed to convert a few into birdies as I was in position a lot. The conditions were nice early on and the course is playing really nicely. The greens are always great here in Zimbabwe.”
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At just one stroke off the lead, Bremner is looking forward to the rest of the week.
“It’s always nice to set up a good score and have a good start to a tournament. It gives you a lot of belief in your game, knowing that you are capable of a good score and a good round. It helps for the rest of the week because you can always draw on that,” Bremner said.
The defending champion, Luis Carrera, signed for a four-under-par 68 and is three shots behind the leader
