HARARE Royal Golf Club captain Audley Chatora enjoyed an all-expenses-paid trip to the recent Investec South Africa Open in Durban, courtesy of the Bard Santner Road to SA Challenge that allowed him to enjoy world-class golfing and hospitality facilities in one of the region's premier tourist destinations.
Since its launch in October 2024, the Bard Santner Road to SA Challenge, held in
partnership with Royal Harare Golf Club, has rapidly grown to become Zimbabwe’s premier corporate golf tournament.
The Bard Santner Golf Challenge is a series of monthly tournaments held at the prestigious Royal Harare Golf Club in the capital.
The challenge, which began in October 2024 and will run until October 2025, offers
participants a chance to win all-expenses-paid trips to top golfing events, including the Investec South Africa Open in Durban and the Nedbank Challenge in Sun City.
Chatora, an avid professional golfer and president of the Zimbabwe Institute of Quantity Surveyors, who has participated in various tournaments, went for Investec South Africa Open in Durban after a bruising local battle with talented and determined competitors, although lady luck also smiled on him in the process.
As the first four legs of the challenge concluded — marked by tension, anxiety and
- Bard Santner’s Golf Challenge gives Chatora historic SA Open in Durban experience
- Chatora takes part in historic South Africa Open in Durban courtesy of Bard Santner’s Golf Challenge
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unexpected twists and turns — it was Shoib Ghodiwala who emerged tops, clinching the ticket to attend the SA Open in Durban from February 27 to March 2.
However, fate had other plans. He could not make it.
Due to passport issues, Ghodiwala was unable to travel, triggering an unexpected twist in the competitive tournament race.
With the runner-up slot now determining who would replace Ghodiwala, a rare three-way tie set the stage for an electrifying playoff between Chatora, Tendayi Gwatiringa, and Stewart Matuzula on February 20.
In a tense showdown at Royal Harare, where every stroke counted, Chatora triumphed by a single shot after 18 pressure-packed holes.
As part of his prize, which included the option to travel with a guest, Chatora chose to be accompanied by his son, Tanaka, a rising amateur golfer.
The duo was hosted in Durban by Tatenda Hungwe, Bard Santner executive director in
charge of wealth management, who ensured that their experience was as outstanding and memorable as the event itself.
The Investec SA Open, which is part of the prestigious DP World Tour, was played at the scenic yet rain-soaked Durban Country Club, a premier championship golf course with world-class facilities, scenic greens and iconic Durban views in Morningside.
Considered the country's premier golf club, the course has hosted the South African Open championships 17 times.
With a minimum purse of US$1.5 million, the tournament drew an elite cast of golfers,including Zimbabwe’s own Kieran Vincent and defending champion Dean Burmester from South Africa.
But it was South Africa’s Dylan Naidoo who etched his name into the history books and
people's memories with a fine performance.
In a thrilling finale shortened to 54 holes due to flooding, Naidoo outlasted England’s Laurie Canter in a sudden-death playoff on the 18th hole.
His win was not just a personal triumph, but a milestone for South African golf — Naidoo became the first South African player of colour to win the Investec SA Open.
Chatora, with his son and Hungwe on his side, witnessed that live, courtesy of the Bard Santner Challenge which has been making waves in Zimbabwe's golfing community, providing a good platform for enthusiasts to compete, socialise, and win fantastic prizes.
As Bard Santner Challenge continues toward its crescendo in December, the storylines on and off the course remind us that golf, like life, is shaped by precision, resilience, and the occasional surprise. And sometimes, when the stakes are sky high, the least expected can happen, as the Chatora case showed us.
