By FIDEL ONO

The battle for cash and Order of Merit points in the 2014 KCB Golf Challenge moves to the lake-side Nyanza Golf Club course Kisumu this weekend, for the third leg of this year’s series.
A total of Sh500,000 will be at stake in the two-day tournament where the winner will take home Sh117,000. A field of 30 professionals including the current leader of the four-events series were drawn to tackle the par 70 Nyanza Golf Club course from where the Professional Golfers of Kenya will probably pick up its team of eight for next weekend’s Rapid Golf Tour event at Muthaiga.
The Rapid Tour event, the first in the eight-events series will be a matchplay event involving Kenya’s national senior team, junior team and the Professionals team. Each side will be made up of eight players and a reserve.  This is the first of its own kind in the country. This weekend’s KCB event is therefore most crucial for the pros as each one of them will be fighting to get a place in the top eight. The long driving Indiza from Mumias Sugar won the second leg at Royal on July 11 to eventually jump to the top with a total of 28 points having picked up eight in the first leg at Thika Greens. He is three and half points ahead of Royal Nairobi’s David Wakhu and about seven clear of Coast based Kopan Timbe and Vet Lab’s Brian Njoroge. All of those are drawn in Kisumu and so is Royal Nairobi’s Eric Ooko and Muthaiga’s Nicholas Rokoine who finished second at Royal. Also seeking a place at the top eight will be Golf Park’s David Opati and Joseph Karanja, Royal Nairobi’s Charan Thethy, Nakuru’s Richard Ainley, Njuguna Ngugi from Railway and Sigona’s John Wangai. This year KCB which has put aside a total of Sh24m for the series, will sponsor the top three pros in the Order of Merit after the grand finale at Nyali Golf and Country Club on September 26, to play in the Sunshine Tour in South Africa. The KCB Golf Challenge which a few years ago attracted most of the pros in the East Africa region before it was reduced to a local series is marking its eighth year .
Tomorrow’s first round is set for 9am where Indiza is drawn with senior pro Elisha Kasuku and Eric Ooko. Saturday’s round two draw where the pros will be joined by amateurs from the Nyanza and Western region, will be seeded. pandora bracelet charms pandora bracelet charms

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