By Kalumiana Kalumiana
The 2026 Mopani Zambia Golf Open starts tomorrow, Thursday, at Nkana Golf Club in Kitwe with the forever anticipation of a local shining in its 57 years of overseas domination of the richest annual Zambian sporting event.
The first two rounds will see the field of 132 local and foreign golfers cut to half plus ties at the end of Friday’s action to decide who goes through to the final two rounds of the business end of the Zambia Open.
Zambia will have 25 golfers of which 10 are professional and 15 amateur entries.
However, no Zambian who has ever made the final cut has won the Zambia Open since it started in 1969, with only two local golfers coming close.
Leading the local field again for this year’s Zambia Open will be Dayne Moore, who finished second in 2024 at the same venue and 20th in 2025 at 3 under.
Moore’s other top-10 finish was on his home course at Ndola Golf Club, where he finished 7th in 2010.
He will be headlining the brigade of locals in the absence of another veteran and 2006 Zambia Open runner-up Madalisto Muthiya who finished second at Nchanga Golf Club in Chingola.
Aaron Simfukwe who was the second-best Zambian at Nkana in 2025, had what was his best Zambia Open since finishing 69th with a plus 9 in 2015.
In 2025, Simfukwe finished at 2 over, tied with six other golfers in 45th place.
Together with Moore, Simfukwe is expected to be another crowd-puller from the local field over the opening two rounds.
Also back to try and make his mark again is amateur golfer Michael Chuma.
Chuma was the only amateur golfer to make the final cut at the 2025 Zambia Open when he finished at 10 over.
Meanwhile, defending champion Samuel Simpson of South Africa returns to the Zambia Open, where he won the second Sunshine Tour title of his career.
But 2025 runner-up and compatriot Herman Loubser, the man Simpson beat on the final day in very dramatic circumstances, is not coming back and has moved on to the big leagues of the DP World Tour.
Loubser had led the first three rounds of the 2025 Zambia Open and blew away a 5-point lead in the final round to let Simpson overtake him.
