BATTLE OF GOTY POINTS MOVE TO NAKURU FOR CORONATION TROPHY
Nelson Simwa in action at a past event. He will be among the favourites at the tournament.
By CORRESPONDENT
Golfer of The Year (Goty) points will be up for grabs this weekend in Nakuru when a field of 109 players, among them some of Kenya’s elite golfers, converge on the hilly par-73 Nakuru Golf Club course for this year’s Coronation trophy.
The 54-hole strokeplay event, formerly the national championship in the country played concurrently with the Bendor Trophy, is the seventh leg in the 18-event Goty series. The series is also used for selecting the national team and for ranking amateurs in the country. The overall winner of the series also qualifies to play in the Kenya Open, a European Challenge Tour event.
So far a total of 41 players have scored points in the series, courtesy of the new bonus points scoring system which intends to reward players points rather than improving the standards.
Since the introduction of the bonus points, a number of golfers, some of whom were not able to break 80-point barrier, have been earning points.
At this weekend’s Coronation Trophy, leading the hunt for points and the trophy will be Limuru Country’s John Karichu whose lead has been reduced to only four points by Golf Park’s Tony Omuli.
Karichu performed poorly in the Trans Nzoia Open two weeks ago, where he shot 78, 82, and 79 to finish in 10th place. He has so far scored 104.75 points against Omuli’s 100.25 points.
Also seeking the Coronation title besides the two, will be Vet Lab’s Robinson Owiti who scored a four-shot victory in the Trans Nzoia Open to move to third place in the Goty ranking with 81.63 points.
The Nakuru-bound players also include Nelson Simwa from Vet Lab, Abraham Abdullai (Great Rift Valley Resort, Naivasha), Kiambu’s Steve Karanja, Njoro’s Alfred Nandwa and Royal Nairobi’s Jonathan Chebukati. The format is 54-hole strokeplay with two rounds tomorrow followed by the third and final on Sunday. nike air max pas cher nike air max pas cher