PRO GOLFERS PAY TRIBUTE TO ESRIC

EZULWINI – The Eswatini Royal Insurance Corporation (ESRIC) has been showered with glowing praises for its significant role in keeping local professional golfers in action despite the harsh economic impact of COVID-19.

These sentiments were shared by a number of local golfers interviewed shortly after the closely-contested ESRIC PRO-AM tournament hosted at the Ezulwini Golf Club over the weekend. The tournament ended successfully on Sunday, with James Pennington proving his mettle with yet another colourful display particularly on Saturday, where he set the pace for the rest to follow. Evidently, his performance on Sunday was a bit low-priced as per his admission in the post-match interview. Notwithstanding his subdued display, he still managed to hold onto pole position and be crowned the champion. Pennington overcame tough competition from second-placed Raymond Mathonsi, who was one of the best performers this year.

Attendance

Worth noting is that this was the final PRO-AM tournament for this year and it proved very popular given the impressive attendance, both in the professional and amateur categories. The ESRIC sponsorship has come as a huge blessing for the Eswatini Professional Golfers Association (EPGA). It has ensured that golfers stay active, which is a key ingredient in the development of the sport. Besides the professional golfers, the tournament also caters for the amateurs, ladies and juniors, making it one of the most accommodative golf competitions in local history.

Pennington, who is also ESRIC’s brand ambassador, ran short of words in thanking the giant insurance company for the love it was extending to him and the sport as a whole. “This tournament has brought a lot of joy to professional golfers as it provides the much-needed activity. It has helped in bringing us together as professionals and making it easy to share ideas on how best the local sport can be improved. We are very fortunate to have a sponsor like ESRIC and, personally, I am very grateful because I am their brand ambassador. I hope they are happy with our partnership, so far,” he said. The talented golfer admitted that he needed to take a deserved break from the game to recharge after a long season of travelling to tournaments outside the country.

Pennington also paid tribute to the other local professional golfers for making the ESRIC tournament a success, singling out his greatest rival, Raymond Mathonsi, for giving him a run for his money. “Raymond is a good player and we had quite interesting battles this year, which made the game more exciting. His experience is showing and credit must also be given to the rest of the golfers for their efforts. The future is bright for golf in the country,” he said.   

Veteran

Veteran professional golfer Peter Dlamini described the ESRIC sponsorship as huge and thanked the insurance company for being their friend in the sport. Dlamini, one of the highly experienced  players in the country, said the fact that this tournament was played at least once a month brought smiles on their faces.
“Professional golfers were struggling for game time before ESRIC came to our rescue with the Pro-Am tournament. We are now assured of featuring in a competitive tournament, at least, once a month, which is far better than sitting at home and relying on practice sessions. We are very grateful to ESRIC for this kind gesture. This tournament is playing an important role in the development of the sport,” the soft-spoken Dlamini said. Others who paid tribute included Oscar Dube, Banele Mavuso, Vusi ‘Futis’ Dlamini and Rasheed Mohammed among others.

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