Luis Carrera clinched his first Sunshine Tour title after winning the FBC Zimbabwe (“Zim”) Open at Royal Harare Golf Club with an impressive 18-under.
He started the tournament with a first-round score of 67 to take second place. Carrera then climbed to the top of the leaderboard after shooting six-under on Friday, heading into the weekend at 11-under.
That wasn’t it for the Mexican golfer. He shot 69 to finish the third round at 14-under, one stroke ahead of Australia’s Austin Bautista.
This was a big win for Carrera, who graduated from the Sunshine Tour’s Qualifying School in April. Commenting on his play Saturday, Carrera said, “It was a good round. I didn’t have my A game, but in the end I was happy that I was able to still play well.”
On the final day of the tournament, the Q-school graduate scored a 68, with a birdie and an eagle within the first three holes. Three birdies in the final five holes sealed his victory over Batista, who remained four strokes behind
Carrera’s victory makes him the first non-South African to win the Zimbabwe Open since 2000, when Zimbabwean Mark McNulty won. Equally as impressive, Carrera won the first Sunshine Tour tournament of the 2025-2026 season during his first start.
“I’m just very happy to be playing a full season on the Sunshine Tour,” Carrera said. “I was fortunate to play good golf at the Q-school, and I won that. Now I’m off to a good start here, and I’m happy about that. This is exactly the way I’d like to start the season.”
