Kenya Team that emerged top

RWANDA’S national golf team finished fourth in 14th East Africa Challenge Trophy which climaxed on Friday at Bujumbura Golf Club (BGC) course, Burundi

Rwanda attained 11.5 points to come behind Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya won the four-day tournament securing the highest points (19) in the history of the regional tournament.

Uganda finished second with 13 points, half a point ahead of Tanzania. Hosts Burundi finished last with 9.5 points.

A miniature course left teams in disarray. With the anticipated induction of Democratic Republic of Congo and Southern Sudan next year, the East African Golf Federation (EAGF) harbours dreams of the annual showpiece transforming into the Zone V Championship.

According to reports from Burundi, poor organisational skills of the EAGF were exposed after five of the 10 four-ball better-ball matches on Thursday night.

Rwanda’s captain Innocent Rutamu was quoted saying, “This has disrupted our momentum. I understand it has happened elsewhere but we were getting stronger before dusk. The tee off times should’ve been much earlier and more so observed.”

His teammates, Celestine Habineza and Aphrodis Nyirinkwaya had rallied back from three-down to one-down against Kenya’s Kush Mediratta and Abdul Abraham when bad light stopped play.

Jules Dusabe and Emmanuel Rutayisire were all square with four holes to play against Burundi’s Rajabu Mwafrika and Juma Minani.

This was a second time for Burundi to host the regional golf championship since 2007 when they officially joined the East African Golf Federation a year before.

Kenya has maintained a rollercoaster display throughout the five East African soils as the highest title winning nation in the tournament.

Uganda has won the title three times, twice at home and the other in Kigali while Tanzania managed to win the only title during the historic 2002 when the tournament was hosted by Arusha Gymkhana.

The team, coached by professional golfer Jean Baptiste Hakizimana, went into this year’s tournament hoping to improve on their fourth-place finish from the last three editions but failed. They returned home yesterday.

KENYA RETAIN

REGIONAL

CROWN

As expected, defending champions Kenya produced their usually final round fireworks, winning seven out of the eight final round singles to retain the East Africa challenge cup with a margin of three and half points  from their closest opponents Uganda at the nine-hole Bujumbura Golf Club course on 9th November, 2012.

Starting the final round just half a point ahead of Uganda, the Kenyan side saw one of their juniors Daniel Nduva beat Tanzania’s Jimmy Mollel 5-3.

This victory was followed soon after by that of another junior Mathew Wahome who beat Burundi’s Haruna Hakizimana 4-2. There after John Wangai scored a two hole victory against Rwanda’s Afrodiasis Nyirinkwaya.

Kenya’s team captain David Opati completed the morning work with a 1-up against Uganda Willy Kitata in a closely fought match which saw Opati recover from one two holes down going to the 10^th tee. 

Amateur player

Kenyan’s second ranked player, Nelson Simwa, brought the side’s fifth point with a 4-3 win against Uganda Happy Robert while Mathew Omondi  posted a 3-2 win against a Tanzanian top amateur Abbas  Adam.

Youngster Adel Balala was the only Kenyan to lose his match after going down 8-7 to Burundi’s Mwafrika Radjab.

It was however Abraham Abdullai’s 1- up against a player from Rwanda for a total of 17 points, which started of the celebration for the Kenyans who have now won 10 out of 14 tournaments. Uganda finished the KCB sponsored championship with a total of 13.5 points after winning three and halved two matches.

Pool of players

Tanzanians came third with a total of 11.5 while Rwanda was fourth on 9.5 points.

Both Tanzania and Rwanda scored three and half points in the afternoon singles which was partly affected by the rain that made the course play long. Hosts Burundi with only two points in the closing round singles, was placed last with a total point of 8.5 points.

Speaking after the team’s victory, Kenyan coach Charles Farrar said the Kenyan juniors will be unbeatable in the next two years.

“Juniors like Kush Mediratta and Mathew Wahome have displayed a rare talent and they will beat any player in the African continent in the next two years”, Farrar said.

Farrar said Kenya was capable of producing a strong amateur team from the pool of juniors available in the country, with funds available.

Team captain David Opati  said he was encouraged by the youngsters who he said played well despite the fact that this was their first outing save for Daniel Nduva.

ARTICLE BY
LARRY NGALA,
In Bunjumbura

KGU Executive Anthony Muhoro, KGU Chairman Alfred Kariuki, KGU Vice Chairman Francis Okwara and KGU Hon. Treasurer Richard Wanjalla receieves a Cheque from Barclay’s Bank’s Ag. Head of Consumer Banking Mr. Edgar Kalya for Golf Development during the launch of Barclays Golf Circuit.

• Kenya Tourism Board
• Magical Kenya

Golf was last featured in the summer Olympics games official programme in 1900 and 1904 but the International Olympic body  in 2009 decided to reinstate this event for the 2016 summer Olympics . The event will feature professional golfers, many of whom have expressed interest in having golf brought back as an Olympic sport.

As per the agreement reached between the union  and the major sponsors Kenya Airways in the beginning of the KQ Golf Series 2011/2012 , the officials set aside KSH.500, 000 of the total 15 million shillings received for development purposes.

The half a million shillings package was  donated to the Kenya Golf  Foundation with an aim of implementing initiatives that would help in promoting golf among the underprivileged youth in the country as well as foresee the growth of junior leagues.

“In order to develop golf in the country, the players need to show intensive commitment and discipline. This should then be topped up with good leadership so as to bring up a generation that can compete in international tournaments and perform well just like we do in other sports such as Athletics,” stressed Gachoka.

Currently the junior league is already ongoing but it’s highly active during the school holidays. He further added that each registered golf club has a junior golfers program running.

Charan Thethy the chairman of professional golfers of Kenya (PGK) also echoed the need of strong junior leagues that will help in nurturing untapped golf talent which can later be promoted to the professional or amateur bodies .This he said will enhance stable continuity.

“Both the adult and junior golf programs are really important for the growth of the sport in the country. There will be no point to have an adult program without the junior one, this will only mean that we cannot tap new and upcoming talent. At the same time, the junior players need clubs in which they can graduate to when they mature in both age and skill,” said Thethy.

With all the development plans running as planned, the union is confident of forming a team that could represent the country in the Olympics come 2016.

Article by Wanjiku Mwenda.

Managing Director for East and West Africa, Adan Mohamed said they decided to extend the sponsorship that was initially supposed to run up to 2013, so that the bank can make a meaningful contribution to the development of golf in Kenya.

The two year extension will see the total sponsorship kitty by the bank shoot up from 44 million to 80 million, with additional opportunities in the sponsorship of golf clinics and other activities at hand.

“Barclays has over the years demonstrated its commitment towards sports and we appreciate this opportunity to sponsor this premier golfing event in Kenya as an opportunity to further illustrate this commitment”, said Mr. Mohamed.

The tournament will be played at the Muthaiga Golf Club starting March 29^th, 2012, with a host of professional players from Africa and the rest of the world expected to attend.

Mr. Mohamed added that they will retain some of the activities that characterise the Barclays Kenya Open, including the longest drive competition; which features players from leading clubs Pro Am and the premier family event on Sunday.

He explained, “I have been working on my drive over the past year, and I am confident that I will give the players from other clubs a run for their money during the Friday event activity”.

Mr. Mohamed said that the bank received recognition from the Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK) in 2011, for the Best Sponsorship campaign.

KOGL Directors, Patrick Obath (Right) and Joe Wangai (2nd Left) during the Launch event

Speaking during the launch event, the Chairman of the Kenya Open Golf Ltd, Peter Kanyago announced that plans to host a world-class Barclays Kenya Open event this year are at an advanced stage. “The course at Muthaiga Gold Club is in tip-top condition and we are hard at work ensuring that all the logistics are put in place as we draw nearer to the tee-off”.

Mr. Kanyago added that they are anticipating a good turnout of players (156 in total), and a similar surge in the number of those who will attend. He explained, “The profile of golf has continued to rise in Kenya, and there are now more players and enthusiasts who are keen to see how some of the best players in the world do it.”