NGIGE BEATS SNOW, INDIZA TO WIN DTB LONGEST DRIVE COMPETITION
Simon Ngige in a action during a recent tournament.
By DANIELLA APIYO
Aspiring golfers and professionals demonstrated their talent in golf’s big cousin, Long Drive at the Kenya Railways club in Nairobi. The event was brought to Kenya by the Board of United International Long Drivers (BUILD) and sponsored by Diamond Trust Bank (DTB). BUILD is a not for profit organization whose mandate is to promote the sport of long drive.
BUILD was represented in Kenya by Mombasa born Fareen Samji who is the current 3 time International Long Drive Champion (ILDC) Canadian Women’s Long Drive champion. “Bringing Long drive to Kenya is a dream come true for me, and I am overwhelmed by the response we received,” says Samji.
Each competitor at the DTB Drive For Show Long Drive competition hit a “set” of 6 balls with the longest ball coming to rest inside the fairway counting as their score. The day started with qualifying where each competitor hit 6 balls (1 set) and the top 4 qualified for the finals in the afternoon. In the Men’s Division finals Mike Kisia of Vet Lab hit the longest ball of the day at 379 yards to clinch the title over Amman Shah from Sigona.
The Pros division was a showdown of epic proportions with Simon Ngige of Thika defeating Greg Snow of Royal by 2 yards to win the title. Junior Boys showed tremendous talent and Windsor’s 14 year old Akshay Chandaria defeated 16 year old Aqib Assaria of Sigona. Junior girls had a talent that was very promising thanks to the teachings of Rose Naliaka. Serah Khanyereri defeated Joy Ndonga in the finals to win the title.
Running the grid for the event was seasoned tournament host Ryan Hawkins, the 2013 ILDC Canadian Men’s Long Drive champion and Team Canada captain. “I really didn’t know what to expect when I came to Kenya, but the talent of the hitters I have seen here is amazing,” says Hawkins, a left handed hitter on his first visit to Kenya.
Diamond Trust Bank was the official sponsors of the event. Heads of Products and Marketing at DTB Mr Gituku Kirika said, “DTB is excited to bring this event to Kenya in support of our theme of innovation.”
Onlookers were treated to a demo about long drive and some tips and techniques by Hawkins and Samji. The event was sanctioned by the KGU and unlike other golf events where silence is tradition at the tee, the event had a DJ spinning music all day for the hitters to hit to and it created a great vibe. KGU chairman Peter Warui says, “I never knew that golfers could hit to music, and hit well. I think the idea of silence on the tee is a myth!”
The event the first of its kind in Kenya attracted over 100 participants drawn from different clubs across the country.