US-based top Zimbabwean amateur golfer Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa made a memorable hole-in-one during the opening round of the US Amateur Championship qualifier at Lubbock Country Club in Texas, USA on Monday.
Thanks to the ace on the par-three 17th, Nyamukondiwa shot a three-under-par 69 in the opening round before following it up with a two-under-par-70 for a 36-hole total of five-under-par 139.
With just two slots in the field for the 2022 US Amateur on offer, Nyamukondiwa came up short by two shots and now has to wait after grabbing the second alternate spot.
The 121st US Amateur Championship will be played from August 15-21at Ridgewood Country Club and Arcola Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey.
The U.S. Amateur champion receives a world of perks, from automatic selection to the U.S. Walker Cup team (if he is eligible) to an invitation to the Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship to start in a handful of other professional events. It’s a life-changing win.
Nyamukondiwa has been making some big strides in his fledgling career in the US, where he is on a golf scholarship at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The former Zimbabwe junior golf team captain has a breakthrough season at Drexel University last semester after winning his maiden collegiate title at the Yale Spring Invitational in New Haven, Connecticut and was subsequently named the Colonial Athletic Association golfer of the week on April 16.
He followed that up with a third-place finish at the CAA championships on April 26.