Zimbabwe junior golf starlet Tariro November responded confidently to the challenge of taking on some of the biggest names in Zimbabwean golf, firing a one-under 71 in the opening round of the ZPGA Championship – Presented by Universal Sports Club at Royal Harare Golf Club on Tuesday.
Having recently completed his A-Level examinations at The Heritage School in Harare, November was one of the junior golfers invited to compete alongside the professional golfers in the high-profile tournament.
The gifted teen gave himself the ideal start in the 54-hole tournament as he finished as one of only seven players to shoot under on the opening day of the US$10 000 event.
“I guess I was just playing one shot at a time, playing as an amateur alongside the seasoned pros I wasn’t really looking for much but the end result was pretty good, I shot one under par. It’s a great honour playing with the professionals,” November said in an interview with ZimSportLive.
The Chapman Golf Club junior attributed his development to the exposure he has gained from representing the country through the Zimbabwe Junior Golf Association.
Tariro represented the nation in various tournaments. This year he was part of the squads for the African Region 5 Championship in Angola and the All-African Junior Golf Championships in Egypt, just to mention a few.
He currently holds the Zimbabwe Schools Golf Championship title.
“Zimbabwe Junior Golf has really helped me to improve my game through the exposure I have gained from representing my country. I’ve got a lot of exposure but I still want to continue improving and will keep working hard on my game. My expectations for the rest of the week are pretty high I just want to make sure that every round I play I aim to shoot under par,” he said.
November will begin the second round three shots behind the lead held by seasoned local professional Ryan Cairns, who fired an opening three-under-par 68 to finish two shots ahead of the trio of Robson Saurombe, Never Milazi and Bradley Kulaisi.