Star profile: Lewis Chitengwa

Black Enterprise, Sept, 1995 by Eric L. Smith

He's only 20 years old, but he's already being touted in many circles as one of professional golf's "great black hopes" for the future.

And surprise, he's not Tiger Woods. Lewis Chitengwa only beat Woods to win the 1992 Orange Bowl Tournament, considered by many as the world junior championships.

His extraordinary ability with a golf club has already broght him across the globe from his home of Harare, Zimbabwe to Charlottesville, Va., where Chitengwa just completed his freshman year at the University of Virginia on full scholarship.

While Eldrick (Tiger) Woods may be the most acclaimed young black golfer today, Chitengwa has already made history in his homeland. He is the first black man ever to win the South African Amateur Championship, a feat that's prompted some to like him to the Jesse Owens of golf. He describes the event as his most memorable. "How I got there and how I played... that's probably the greatest moment of my life."

Chitengwa says making the decision to come to the United States and leave his home and family for extended periods was a difficult one, but not one he regrets. Chitengwa started playing when he was 13, taking instruction from his father, who was a golf pro. "I realized this sport could take you places and I was really starting to enjoy it," he says. "Plus my dad was encouraging me. When I first started, he would tell me I just needed to practice and I could be good at this."

Indeed. Chitengwa's a three-time winner of the Zimbabwe National Amateur. But it was his victory at the Orange Bowl Junior Classic that prompted UVA coach Mike Moraghan to take notice and begin recruiting efforts. "He's a great learner--the kind of guy I have to say something to only once for him to digest it, think about it, figure out if it's going to work for him and apply it," says Moraghan. "In many ways he's mature beyond his years as a college freshman."

Chitengwa has made an immediate impact on the fortunes of the UVA Cavaliers. The freshman shot a 209 for a second-place finish at the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate tournament held last year, propelling the team to a first-place finish. He was also rated by Golfweek magazine as a 1994-95 "Freshman to Watch;" received an All-American Honorable mention; made the All-Atlantic Coast Conference and AllState Virginia teams, and was named ACC Rookie of the year.

Chitengwa's goal is to complete his studies at UVA and then pursue life on the PGA tour, where he hopes and expects to run into Tiger Woods again.