Safaricom Head Of Enterprise business unit Joseph Wanjohi (right) hands over a Cheque of KES 7 million for a one year partnership with Muthaiga Golf Club. Receiving the cheque is Muthaiga Golf Club Chairman Ronald K. Meru.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

The third leg of the Safaricom Golf Tour will take place at the Muthaiga Golf Club this weekend. The tournament has attracted over 200 amateur and professional golfers who will be taking part in the 18-hole, corporate tournament on Saturday with over 100 junior golfers set to grace the course on Sunday.

The Junior Golf tournament will also double up as a US Kids Golf local tour event, which kicked off with the Limuru leg of the Safaricom Golf Tour two weeks ago.

“We have seen some exciting action over the first two legs of the inaugural Safaricom Golf Tour especially with the junior tournaments. We also continue to hold clinics for young aspiring golfers as we look to demystify the sport and position it as one that is accessible. We already saw the impressive performance at last weekend’s Kenya Open from teenage golfer Njoroge Kibugu who started playing at age 6 which shows that our focus on growing junior golf is certain to bear fruit,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom.   

The Muthaiga leg of the tour comes just a week after the club played host to the 2022 Magical Kenya Open which was won by Chinese pro golfer Ashun Wu. The club has also signed a one-year deal with Safaricom for branding rights in some sections of the club for the next one year.

“We are pleased to host Safaricom here at the Home of Golf and we are proud to see how the company is committed to nurturing and growing talent in this sport. I believe with such commitment to our juniors, we are destined to becoming a better golfing nation,” said Ronald Meru, Chairman, Muthaiga Golf Club.

Safaricom has invested KES 100 million in the golf tour, which aims at nurturing and growing talent in the country. The tour will be played in 14 golf clubs across the country.

Last year, Safaricom also announced a three-year partnership with the Junior Golf Foundation (JGF) to help nurture and grow golf in Kenya. The partnership also saw the introduction of a US Kids Golf Local Tour Competition which will give qualifying golfers opportunities to play in regional, international and world championship competitions organized by the US Kids Golf Foundation.

The telco has also recently sponsored the Magical Kenya Ladies Open and Magical Kenya Open.

A golfer tees off during the 9th leg of the Johnnie Walker Golf Series at Karen Country Club last month.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

The Johnnie Walker Golf Series dubbed ‘Road to Gleneagles’ resumes this weekend with the 10^th leg set to be held at Thika Sports Club, where over 100 golfers have confirmed to participate.

The players will participate in the tournament’s four-ball stableford format, with the top three teams qualifying to play at the tournament’s Eagles Round (semi-finals) to be played at Muthaiga Golf Club in May.

The Thika event follows the 9^th leg that was held at Karen Country Club on February 26^, where David Mambo led his team of Andrew Ndolo, Sam Muraya and Tom Simba to a round of 107 points and emerge the overall winners, ahead of the team of Muthoni Muturi, Doreen Murithi, Jacintah Wambugu and Grace Gichuki who scored 105 points. Claiming the third position was the team of John Muiruri, Stanley Nduati, James Kimondo, and Steve Waruhiu who returned a score of 104 points.

Kenya Breweries Limited’s (KBL) Marketing Manager for Spirits, Josephine Katambo, weighed in on the series progress, saying:

“As we head to Thika Sports Club this weekend, we expect some very entertaining golf action as we have had in the previous events. This being the 10^th event, we are happy with the progress of the Road to Gleneagles golf series so far as we have had a good number of participants. We are proud to have offered many golfers across the country a chance to compete in the tournament, which is an opportunity for them to better their skills,” Katambo said.

She added: “Johnnie Walker continues to be a leading supporter of golf in the country as evidenced in our involvement in the Magical Kenya Ladies Open and the just-concluded Magical Kenya Open. The sport continues to show incredible growth and acceptance in the country and we believe it has the potential to become a popular sport. We, therefore, want to be part of this journey as we aim to take the game to the next level, and indeed promote the country as a golfing destination.”

The ‘Road to Gleneagles’ Johnnie Walker Golf Series is part of the efforts by KBL to leverage sports to create more avenues for positive interaction with consumers of their various brands. Johnnie Walker is a long-time supporter of Kenyan golf, with this circuit giving an opportunity for local golfers to compete with a view of increasing the standard of the overall local game.

The event comes on the back of the brand’s involvement in the just-concluded Magical Kenya Open where KBL sponsored the tournament to the tune of Sh69.5 million.