Golfer Phil Mickelson of the US tees off on the 17th hole during the first round of the Northern Trust golf tournament at the Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA, 19 August 2021. The annual PGA Tour golf tournament runs from 19 August until 22 August 2021. EPA/JUSTIN LANE

By KGG TEAM

SuperSport viewers on DStv can look forward to seeing all the action from the PGA Tour’s The American Express at the PGA West Courses in La Quinta, California from Thursday 20 to Sunday 23 January 2022.

SuperSport is the ultimate destination for Golf fans, with an unparalleled selection of action from around the world.

Formerly known as the Desert Classic, The American Express was founded in 1960 and has become a cornerstone of the PGA Tour’s action early in a New Year. The reigning champion of this tournament is South Korea’s Kim Si-woo, who shot a 265 (-23) to win the 2021 edition by one stroke from American Patrick Cantlay.

“Every year, I’ve had a chance, but I couldn’t make it,” Kim said of his triumph last year through a translator. “I had a lot of resolve in my mind. I had to know what’s going on, so I knew how to play my game in the final round. I knew Cantlay played really well. I tried to keep patient and believe in myself. I got the chance on 16 and 17, and that’s when I could make it. I feel good about myself.”

The 2022 The American Express sees the return of the Pro-Am tournament section of the event (which was scrapped last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic), as well as live music, with Maroon 5 performing on Friday and Brad Paisley on Saturday at the PGA West driving range.

Si Woo Kim of South Korea chips onto the seventeenth green during the third round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic golf tournament at the Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Michigan, USA, 03 July 2021. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

Tony Finau is excited to have the tournament back in its regular form: “Having guys like Maroon 5 there, concerts, I love music,” said Finau. “A tournament is a lot of things that go into a golf tournament, and what makes it special is kind of what happens during the week.

“To have concerts like that, to meet the great people in the Pro-Am, it has a field that’s different than most of the other events we have, so I get to meet people that I admire and maybe looked up to in music or the entertainment industry. I have those opportunities during this event. And then I love the golf courses we play.”

The American Express will also feature six-time Major champion Phil Mickelson in the field, as well as the likes of Rickie Fowler, Francesco Molinari and Scottie Scheffler.

PGA West Courses run 7,113 and 7,204 yards each and are both par 72. The purse for The American Express is $7,6million.

No rival can compete with SuperSport’s coverage. Our viewers on DStv can see all their favourite golf stars dominating courses across the world. Visit www.dstv.com to subscribe or upgrade, and join in on the excitement. And while you’re on the move, you can stream matches on the DStv App.

The American Express broadcast details:

All times CAT

Thursday 20 January

22:00: Day 1 – LIVE on SuperSport Golf and SuperSport Grandstand (from 23:00)

Friday 21 January

21:00: Day 2 – LIVE on SuperSport Grandstand and SuperSport Golf (from 22:00)

Saturday 22 January

22:00: Day 3 – LIVE on SuperSport Golf

Sunday 23 January

22:00: Day 4 – LIVE on SuperSport Golf

A golfer follows his tee during the third leg of the Johnnie Walker Golf Series held at Windsor Country Club

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

The team of John Kashangaki, Charles Kiprono, Sanjay Archya and Mayak Amin carded a combined score of 107 points to be crowned the overall winner of the third leg of the Johnnie Walker Golf Series held on Saturday at Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club.

Claiming second position was the team of Karim Charania, Ronan Smith, Stergios and Maria Zeller who managed a combined score of 97 points, count-back, fending off the challenge from the team of Annel Rajay, Naveel Sheikh, Frank C, and Lizzele who combined for a score of 97 points to seal the second runners-up position.

Meanwhile, John Kashangaki carded 39 points to emerge the winner in the Men’s Category beating fellow team player Charles Kiprono who also posted 36 points to claim the second position.

In the Ladies Category, Maria Torraddo, posted 36 points to claim the top honours ahead of Maria Aloo who scored 32 points to emerge second.

From Left – Overall Winners John Kashangaki, Mayank Amin, Charles Kiprono, Sanjay Archyra.

Claiming top positions in the Nines were Kamau Nyabwengi who scored 24 points in the first nine, while Avnish Bhandari scored 20 points in the second nine to emerge the star.

In the Longest Drive contest, Riz Charania and Chrissie Adams emerged respective winners in the Men’s and Ladies categories.

The event attracted a field of 150 players who braved the chilly weather conditions to battle it out for the qualifying positions. The top three teams now join the list of teams to play in the next round of the Series – Eagles Round, as they aim to make the cut to play in the Series’ Grand Finale where a fully paid-up trip to the iconic Gleneagles Golf Course in Scotland will be up for grabs.

Speaking during the event, John Kashangaki expressed his excitement having scooped the Men’s Category prize as well as the overall winner’s honours.

“I am delighted to have emerged the winner in the Men’s category as well as emerging the overall winner together with my teammates. It was a good day and I hope that the next round will be even better. The series has given us players a great opportunity to better our skills and competitiveness and we are grateful to Johnnie Walker for this opportunity,” said Kashangaki.

Commenting on the event, Josephine Katambo, Marketing Manager, Spirits at Kenya Breweries Limited said that the Series is aimed at giving many players a chance to express their skills and support development of the sport in the country.

“Golf, like any other sport, requires one to practise and compete regularly for one to be good at it. We therefore started this series with the aim to give as many golfers as possible a chance to play and compete regularly in order to better their skills and competitiveness. We are happy that so far we have had participation of over 300 players from the first three legs of the series. It shows that the series has been well received and we hope to reach even more golfers in the country and offer them a chance to play,” she said.

She added: “KBL believes in the power of sports as an avenue for our audiences to interact intimately with our brands. This is because sport is an affirmation of societal values, with the ability to bring communities together. Golf in particular is a sport that is associated with very important life values such as honesty and respect for one another, and these are values also associated with the Johnnie Walker brand which we seek to promote,” she added.

Following the Windsor event, attention now turns to Nakuru Golf Club for the next leg of the series dubbed ‘Road to Gleneagles.’ on 18^th December 2021.