McNulty pledges his allegiance to Ireland

Mark McNulty has turned his back on his home country of Zimbabwe and pledged allegiance to Ireland.

McNulty has won 16 European Tour titles and will soon be making the transition to playing in America on the Champions Tour.

He admitted to PA International on Thursday that growing frustration with life under the autocratic Robert Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe forced him to make a decision he was hoping to avoid.

McNulty has decided to take up the process of naturalisation in Ireland thanks to an Irish grandmother.

“It’s not something I want to get too into,” he admitted.

“But I just can’t afford to sit in a passport office for days trying to explain why I need to renew my passport or pay a few thousand dollars to ensure it is renewed.

“I guess it was just a matter of time and the option came along and I took it.”

McNulty, who lives in Sunningdale outside London, said he would never sever all ties with his home country, however, even if the political situation gets worse.

“The change came up and quite honestly, I am happy to be Irish,” he said.

“But I do still have ties with Zimbabwe and always will – my family lives there and I will continue to have these ties.

“You know it’s easy to get up and beat the country with a big stick if you don’t agree with the way it is being run.

“But you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that things aren’t terrific in the way the country is being run.

“Right now, though, it is still a delicate issue.”