ROYAL NAIROBI HOSTS LAST KCB ROAD TO MASTERS LEG
CJ Wangai in action during the third round of the KCB Road to the Karen Masters at Thika Sports Club
By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS
Greg Snow is among 36 professionals lined up for the fifth and last leg of the KCB Road To Karen Masters series which teed off at the par 72 Royal Nairobi Golf Club from Wednesday.
Despite skipping last month’s Nakuru leg, Snow hopes to rediscover the form which saw him rule the Safari Tour Golf Series.
The Muthaiga pro is yet to register victory in the ongoing Road To The Masters series but has the opportunity to do so this week.
He began his Royal campaign from the first tee in the company of Sujan Shah of Windsor and Tony Omuli of Golf Park.
Professional Golfers of Kenya (PGK) Chairman Charan Thethy teed it up with Muthaiga resident professional Nelson Mudanyi and on form Thika Sports Club’s Simon Ngige.
Ngige was the top placed local at the 2019 Magical Kenya Open with an impressive tournament total of 5 under par 279 gross for a joint 25th position.
Last week, Ngige offered further evidence that he is returning to peak form when he won the inaugural Crown Paints Invitational at Muthaiga.
Mumias long-hitter Dismas Indiza is also in the Royal mix. He is lined up with Eric Ooko of Royal and Nyali’s resident pro NM Ngugi. Playing alongside the pros is amateur player J. Odhiambo who teed off at 12.56pm. CJ Wangai, who is also the PGK Captain and Road To The Masters leader, is playing the first two rounds along with Limuru based John Kagiri and Kenneth Bollo.
Anil Shah, Mohit Mediratta of Sigona Golf Club and Mathew Omondi set off at 11.30am also from the first tee. Omondi of Vet lab is making a comeback after a long layoff.
The local pros are fighting for 27 available slots for the KCB Karen Masters. They are playing a 54-hole three-day strokeplay event starting Wednesday through to Friday. Amateurs will on Saturday play their usual 18-hole stableford tournament where the last six slots for the Karen Masters Pro-Am will be at stake.
From each of the five clubs that have hosted the series, qualifiers have been the Men Winner, Lady Winner, Guest Winner, KCB Staff Winner, Junior Winner and a Wild Card winner which has been determined by the host club.
KCB Group Director of Marketing and Communications Angela Mwirigi said:“We appreciate the confidence the golfing fraternity has on our brand and we certainly see this as a long term partnership with mutual benefits both for the golfers in the region but for the Bank as well in terms of extending its reach across the country,”
PGK Chairman Charan Thethy on his part noted: “The Karen Masters qualification has not only helped to raise golfing standards in the country but also provided local professionals with an enabling environment to shape up for the Karen Masters. For the amateurs, its a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to brush shoulders with leading local and Sunshine Tour pros.”
The third edition of the KCB Karen Masters will for the second year running serve as a round of the prestigious Sunshine Tour.
The Royal event has a prize fund of Ksh. 640,000 to be shared by the top 15 finishers. The winner will carry home Ksh. 110,000, according to PGK Captain Wangai.