Nyanza Club hosts Safaricom series
Kisumu’s nine-hole Nyanza Golf Club will play host to the fourth leg of the Safaricom Golf Tour on Saturday where a large field of 140 amateur players and 100 junior golfers have confirmed participation.
The day-long event will feature corporate and junior tournaments on both Saturday and Sunday as well as a caddies’ contest on Monday.
“We have realised that most of our caddies are very skilful and they only need an opportunity to play. We believe that our caddies can be the best golfers in the country as has been proven by the likes of former caddie David Wakhu, one of the most renown Kenyan pros. This is why we have decided to have a caddies’ tournament on some of our tours to give them an opportunity to showcase their skills,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO Safaricom.
The fourth leg in Kisumu will also involve a golf outreach programme to introduce the game to the local youth. Dubbed Golf Mtaani, the outreach programme is scheduled for Lolwe Grounds on Saturday from 11am to 4pm.
The 14-leg amateur series will culminate with the grand finale at Vipingo Ridge Golf Resort in August where winners from each event will converge to determine the overall champions.
Safaricom has invested Sh100 million in the inaugural tour, which aims to tap, nurture and grow talent among young golfers across the country. The company has also partnered with the Junior Golf Foundation to support them with training of coaches, local golf tours and nationwide golf development.
Meanwhile, Limuru Country Club will tomorrow play host to the ongoing Johnnie Walker Golf Series, in what will be the twelfth leg of the series dubbed ‘Road to Gleneagles.’
Over 150 golfers are expected to grace the event at the par 72 golf course, playing in the competition’s four-ball Stableford format. Action is expected to start at 0700 hrs.
The top three winning teams will book their slots to play in the competition’s Eagles Round where they will aim to make the cut to play in the Series’ Grand Finale to battle it out for the ultimate prize – a fully paid trip to the iconic Gleneagles Golf Course in Scotland.
So far, a total of 33 teams have qualified to play in the semi-finals set to be held at Muthaiga Golf Club in May.
The Limuru event follows the eleventh leg of the series played at Nyali Golf Club this past weekend. The event saw the team of Christine Ockotch, Florence Karimi, Martin Ombura and Mburu Kariuki, score a combined score of 131 points to be crowned the overall winners, ahead of the team of Jon Stokes, Pauline Gachihi, Mary Kandu, and Petronilah Kalee who managed a combined 128 points on count-back, beating the team of Joyce Masai, Alice Wahome, Martin Wahome and Lumatete Muchai who also scored 128 points to seal the second runners-up position.
Speaking during the tournament, KBL’s Coast Region Sales Representative Leah Mwanzia, said: “We are delighted to be at this stage of the competition as it means that we are edging closer to our ultimate destination - Gleneagles. We head towards the semi-finals at Muthaiga Golf Club in May and later on play at the Grand Finale at the iconic Gleneagles Golf Course in Scotland.
