CHARANIA, NGIGE TOP ROAD TO MAGICAL KENYA OPEN RANKING
By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS
Windsor Golf and Country Club’s Rizwan Charania and Thika Golf Club’s Simon Ngige are joint leaders on the Road to the 2020 Magical Kenya Open presented by Absa ranking with 166.6 points each after three Safari Tour legs.
With last season’s overall winner of the Safari Tour, Greg Snow, not playing at the Royal Nairobi leg due to engagements outside the country, both Charania and Ngige climbed one and two places respectively to the ranking summit ahead of the fourth leg which tees off in a fortnight in Entebbe, Uganda.
Ngige finished tied in third, alongside Mohit Mediratta, at the just-concluded Royal Nairobi Golf Club leg of the 2019-2020 Safari Tour Golf series leg to garner a total of 44 points; while Charania finished tied in fifth, alongside Dismas Indiza and Njuguna Ngugi, amassing 37.6 points.
Royal Nairobi Golf Club’s Erick Ooko, who fell short of clinching his maiden Safari Tour victory to Golf Park’s Tony Imuli, garnered 48 points to see him climb one place on the ranking to settle in third with a total of 158.5 points.
Johnnie-Walker-sponsored Dismas Indiza, who was the highest ranked Kenyan at the Uganda Open last month amassing maximum Safari Tour points, is currently ranked fourth with a total of 142.6 points. He finds himself one place ahead of fellow Johnnie-Walker-sponsored golfer, Greg Snow, who is in fifth with 135 points.
Sigona’s Mohit Mediratta, who has had a decent outing so far in the Tour, is sixth with a total of 129 points having garnered 44 points from the Royal Nairobi leg of the Tour. Nyali’s Njuguna Ngugi is ranked seventh, just 4.6 points behind Mohit. Meanwhile, winner of the Royal Nairobi leg of the Safari Tour jumped 12 places on the ranking to settle for 13th place with a total of 64 points.
The Safari Tour Golf Series is used to prepare players for the Kenya open Golf Championship; with its ranking determining the local and regional pros who play at the Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship.
The 2019/2020 Safari Tour is sponsored by Magical Kenya and Absa.
Additional Information:
Safari Tour Calendar 2019/20
Event 1 Nyali Golf and Country Club 24th – 28th August 2019 (DONE)
Event 2 Uganda Open (Lake Victoria Serena) 10th – 14th September 2019 (DONE)
Event 3 Royal Nairobi Golf Club 12th – 16th October 2019 (DONE)
Event 4 Entebbe Open (Entebbe Golf Club) 30th Oct – 2nd Nov 2019
Event 5 Great Rift Valley Golf Club 23rd – 27th November 2019
Event 6 Muthaiga Golf Club 14th – 18th December 2019
Event 7 Thika Greens 4th – 8th January 2020
Event 8 Sigona Golf Club 25th – 29th January 2020
Event 9 Kitante Open (Uganda Golf Club) 12th – 15th February 2020
Event 10 Karen Country Club 22nd -26th February 2020
Event 11 Tanzania Open (Kiligolf) TBC