The Sunday Mail
ROBSON CHINHOI is the quintessential example of what can happen when talent, opportunity and fortune collide.
Five years ago, the 26-year-old Mutare-based golfer was hopeless and jobless, trying to earn a living through picking up stray balls at Hillside Golf Club, among other menial jobs.
However, today he is earning some tidy money from the sport and recently won the 2017 Hwange Open Golf Tournament with a record breaking margin.
Chinhoi carded a 12 under par score to win by seven shots, which is the best score in the 47-year history of the tournament.
And this is the guy who arrived on the scene rather late.
“I started playing golf rather late in life, at the age of 21,” disclosed Chinhoi.
“I was born in Nyanga and they was hardly any golf played there.
“Towards my late teens, we moved to the city (Mutare) and my brother Hardline got a job at Hillside Golf Club where I would occasionally accompany him and spend most of my time watching other people play golf.
“I earned some money through picking up stray balls and returning them to their owners.”
Hanging around the golf course made Chinhoi fall in love with the game.
“First I wanted to know what the fascination was all about and that drew me closer to the game.
Then one day I found a golf club that nobody wanted to claim and started to drive some balls when the course was not busy,” he said.
That interest developed into passion and Chinhoi decided to teach himself the sport.
He observed some of the pros playing, watched the sport religiously on the television and read whatever golf material he could get his hands on.
Chinhoi’s determination soon caught the eye of many, including Ray Munangwa who is the chairman of Hwange Golf Club.
“I first met Robson when I was still in Mutare, where I worked for Marange Resources but spent most of my spare time at the range,” said Munangwa.
“Here was this guy I would see almost every day roaming about and keenly observing people play.
“We would occasionally see him driving the ball brilliantly, and it was abundantly clear then that Chinhoi had raw talent. All he lacked was technique and some coaching.”
Word soon got around that there was a young man who had the talent but lacked resources.
A chance meeting with Bishop Julius Makoni opened the doors for Chinhoi as the clergyman decided to invest into the young man’s talent.
“That was the turning point,” said Chinhoi.
“I had failed my ‘O’ levels and didn’t have many options in terms of getting employment so when I started hitting golf balls I thought I was whiling up time. However, people said I had talent so I became serious about it all.
“But as you know, golf is an expensive sport to partake in so I did not make much progress until Bishop Makoni came into the picture.
“He bought me my first golf bag and this latest win is dedicated to him because he showed great faith by deciding to sponsor me.”
Chinhoi, with the backing of Bishop Makoni who could not be reached for comment, then went on to tear through the amateur circuit right up to the time he turned pro in 2014.
