NDIZA LEADS KENYA’S ONSLAGHT WITH THREE OVER AS SUNSHINE PRE-QUALIFIERS END IN JO’BURG
Dismas Indiza lines his putt at a past tournament.
By DANIELLA APIYO
Dismas Indiza of Kenya played 3 over par 75 in pre-qualifying round of Johannesburg Open which folded its curtains in the South African capital today.
Speaking on phone from Glendower Golf Club in Johannesburg, Indiza admitted candidly that he played badly on the par 72 course.
“To be very honest, the course was in awesome condition but play didn’t just favour me at all. The game plan was to play 2 under which would have placed me in a favourable position for qualification but my swings didn’t come out as expected,” said Indiza who alongside CJ Wangai and David Wakhu are the three pro golfers Kenya Commercial Bank sponsored for the event also doubling up as a round of the European Tour.
Kenya entered six golfers in yesterday’s pre-qualifiers of the prestigious Jo’Burg Open whose event proper starts on Thursday through to Sunday. Kenyan brigade is spurred on by the presence of two South Africa based youngsters Stefan Engell Andersen and Nelson Mudanyi formerly of Muthaiga Golf Club. Others are CJ Wangai, Wakhu and John Chege.
By the time of going to press, the cut-off score hadn’t been determined but Zambian Dayn More was basking in the lead with a superb round of 4 under par 68.
Projection of the cut-off mark however seemed to suggest that Kenyans would fall by the wayside at the end of it all.
CJ Wangai was among the last Kenya golfers to tee off. He was yet to complete play as we went to press. A total of 110 golfers were entered for the pre qualifiers with the biggest chuck being home players and a few from Nigeria, USA and Zambia. Indiza was the first Kenyan to tee-off at 7.30am local time (8.30 Kenyan time).
Kenya’s Wakhu had an equally bad outing with a round of 9 over par whilst Andersen played 5 over.
Another Kenyan John Chege play 8 over par 80 which wasn’t good enough to secure a place in the Open.
Four Kenyans played in the previous weekend’s Dimensional Tour down south and were all eliminated at pre qualifying stage.
During the George pre-qualifier tournament, Indiza missed a slot to the main event by a mere shot, Wangai by 8 shots and Wakhu by 9 shots.
Joburg Open is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour and PGA European Tour as an official Order of Merit event.
The prize money is 1.3 million euros and this will be shared amongst all the players who will make the cut.
Indiza who is attached to Mumias Golf Club, Royal’s Wakhu and CJ Wangai of Sigona landed the Sunshine Tour sponsorship after topping the KCB Golf Tour Order of Merit last year.
During last year’s Order of Merit, Indiza retained the top accolade followed by Wakhu on 48.5 points. Wakhu picked up 15 points in the Grand Finale at Nyali while Sigona’s John Wangai wrapped up the 2014 Order of Merit in third place with a total of 46.5 points.
This year, KCB Golf has lived up to its promise to sponsor Kenyans in the South African series, a gesture intended to help golfers further their golfing skills and above all brush shoulders with the cream of the continent’s best. cheap nike air max 97 cheap nike air max 97