VIPINGO RIDGE HOSTS 180 PLAYERS FOR THE INAUGURAL SAFARICOM BUSINESS CHALLENGE GRAND FINALE
Head of Safaricom Enterprise Business Unit Evans Nyagah(left)hands a trophy and a fully paid ticket for the grand finale of the Safaricom Challenge to the Nanyuki winner Richard Kabugi during the qualifying round at the club.
By DISMAS ONYANGO
Lying on a 2,500 acres piece of land at North Coast, the magnificent Vipingo Ridge Baobab Course will be hosting over 120 golfers for the 2011/2012 Safaricom Business Golf Challenge Grand finale this weekend; 28thApril.
The countrywide series which kicked off last year in August at the par 73 Windsor Golf and country club has attracted over 4000 golfers during all the eighteen qualifying rounds with the top two in each round making it for the grand finale.
Launched eight months down the line, the series was meant to create a good networking and contact sessions between the business and and all core Safaricom Customers all over the country.
The Challenge has been to; Windsor,Thika,Nakuru,Nyali, Kakamega,Kitale,Machakos,Muthaiga,Vetlab,Railways,Kiambu,Royal Nairobi,Nanyuki,Karen,Limuru,Kisumu and Kericho Golf Clubs.
Kitale’s Philip Shiharsy playing off handicap 1 is expected to pose great challenge at the finale. He returned a score of 41 stable ford points hitting the only arbatross in the series at the Par 73 Kitale Golf Club.
Playing off Handicap 11, Railway’s Rufus Njoroge who recorded the best score of the series (44) will also be battling it out at Vipingo for the grand winner. An eagle on the first hole at the par 72 Railways Golf club propelled his win followed closely by the Club’s vice captain Robert Maina on 41 stable ford points.
Other low handicap golfers are; Paul Kaguamba who is also the KGU representative from Sigona (5), Royal Jay Sandhu on handicap 0 and From Kakamega Steven Ambulwa on handicap 9.
Others expected to shoot better are Nandi bears John Tarus playing off 7, and Machakos Earnest Mwanza playing off handicap 3.
Some of the high Handicap players who will also be in contention are Nanyuki’s Richard Kabugi Playing off 22, Nakuru’s Patrick Matindi playing off 18 and Miriam Wanjiku playing off 25, Nyali’s Ian Marshall playing off 20 and Sundeep Kotecha from Kisumu playing off 25.
“The course is in world class condition though the greens are medium fast,’’ said the Club’s Chief Executive Officer Robert Ward. It’s very windy and this might be challenging to the golfers and especially the Signature hole Number 16 which has water on both sides of the fairways, added Robert.
The Safaricom team will be led by the Chairman Nicholas Ng’angá who is an avid golfer together with the Enterprise Business Unit General Manager Sylvia Mulinge.
All the winners in various categories will receive high end gadgets Courtesy of Safaricom e.g. Tabs, Blackberry Phones, Laptops and the Hole in one winner(8THHOLE) will receive an I pad.