Lina Pro-Am Tour promotes gold development in Tanzania

Dar es Salaam. The Lina Pro Am golf tournament will enter its third stage on July 11 and conclude on July 11 at the Arusha Gymkhana golf course.

The 72-hole stroke play event, exclusively for Tanzanian professionals and amateur golfers, has been introduced in honour of the late Lina Said Nkya, also known as Mother Golfer, who passed away on January 19, 2021, in Moshi, Kilimanjaro Region.

This prestigious Lina Tour features five events at different golf courses as it unites the nation’s 25 professionals with 12 elite golfers boasting handicaps 5 and below, creating a Pro-Am spectacle.

The top three professionals and one elite golfer will earn a coveted chance to feature in a Dubai tournament.

So far, the event has already picked the winners in the first and second editions held at the TPC Moshi golf course in Kilimanjaro and at the Morogoro Gymkhana course.

The first event that took place from February 29 to March 3 saw Arusha Gymkhana club professional golfer Nuru Mollel taking the first prize in a tough and thrilling battle while Fadhyl Nkya of Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club becoming second. The two golfers recorded 281 strokes each in the exciting event.

Mollel recorded 68, 71, 71, and 71 strokes, while Nkya scored 68, 72, 71, and 70 strokes.

Mollel and Nkya had to play an extra hole, known as “Sudden Death,” to determine the winner.

The golfers had to play on hole number 18, and Mollel emerged victorious by scoring a birdie. Mollel was awarded Sh6.8m for the victory while Nkya received Sh4.3m as the runner-up.

The second tournament took place from April 11 to 14 at the Morogoro Gymkhana course, where Ali Mcharo for the second time emerged the overall winner, beating all professionals and Elite amateurs.

Mcharo, a national team golfer, grossed 297 strokes for all four days, while Hassan Kadio, who emerged the second overall winner, grossed 300 strokes to clinch the silverware.

However, Mcharo, who is an elite amateur, was awarded Sh2.2m as per the rules and regulations governing the game that prohibit amateur golfers from receiving more than $1,000 (Sh2.5m).

Kadio was awarded Sh6.8 million. Apart from the two winners’ prizes, there was also a third-place prize of Sh3.4m, Sh2.7m for the fourth-placed golfer, fifth placed (Sh2.2m), and sixth placed received Sh1.2 million.

From seventh to 10th places, golfers received Sh480, 000 each. In the Elite amateur category, the winner was Ally Mcharo, who received Sh2.2m, while the runner-up received Sh1.3m.

The third-placed received Sh900, 000, and the fourth-placed received Sh700, 000. The fifth-placed golfer was awarded Sh570, 000.

There were also overall prizes for the first and second placed winners for amateur golfers, prizes for winners of divisions A and B, ladies' silver and bronze winners for the first and second place, as well as prizes for the first and second placed for Senior and Junior categories.

Additionally, there were prizes for the winners of the longest drive for women and men, and prizes for nearest to the pin for women and men.

What they say about the tournament

One of the event organizers, Yasmin Chali, said that apart from honouring the late Lina Said Nkya, they have decided to establish the Lina Nkya Pro-Am Tour purposely to sharpen the skills of both professional and amateur golfers in the country.

She said they believe pro-golfers, elite and other golfers will attain the highest standard of playing the game after the events.

Yasmin said Tanzania has professional golfers, but most of them have been struggling to record the best results when competing against various professional golfers from outside the country.

“The Lina Pro-Am Tour is dedicated to Tanzanian golfers only and will first be held for two editions before inviting golfers from outside the country,” said Chali.

Inspiring Tanzania golfers

Chali said that another intention of staging the event is to inspire both Tanzania’s professionals and amateur golfers to continue getting involved in the game.

“We want to see the golfers compete and get rewarded with lucrative prize money when compared to the past.

“We have set aside about Sh30.5 million purposely to award the winners of professional, elite amateur and other categories,” she said.

Comment from the winners

For his part, Ally Mcharo said he now sees a bright future for his career in the sport. Mcharo, who has so far pocketed Sh4.4 million for winning the first and second events, said he cannot be proud of involving in the game.

“We were used to being awarded with television sets, refrigerators as main prizes for the winner and the runner-up.

“The Lina Pro-Am Tour has made a revolution in the game as we are now getting what we deserve in the game. I am also confident that I can compete and win over professional golfers like I did in Morogoro Region,” said Mcharo.

Mcharo explained that the best five finishers are also given money for preparations ahead of the next edition.

For his part, Arusha professional golfer Nuru Mollel said they are now thrilled to have the more assurance of competing in professional events than before.

Mollel explained that the organizers have put together such a fantastic event and he believes professional golfers can benefit from being involved in the game.