David Opati of Golf Park hands over the green jacket to Stephen Omondi who won this year’s Diani Beach Masters at Leisure Lodge. Opati will be in action at the Manchester Salver tournament tomorrow and Saturday.

By DISMAS ONYANGO (Writer)

Golfer of the year (GOTY) series leader David Opati plans to bounce back at the Manchester Salver competition after having a disappointing outing at the Karen Amateur Strokeplay Championships a fortnight ago.

The competition which is part of the Goty series will be held tomorrow and Saturday at the par 70 18 hole Eldoret Golf Club.

Pressure will certainly be on the Golf Park player as he currently enjoys a slim 10 point lead over second placed Nelson Simwa of Vet Lab, but he insists that he normally plays well under pressure.

At one point he had threatened to run away with the title after he opened a 23 point gap, but has seen the lead slashed and with two more events to go, he cannot afford any slip ups at the Salver event or second placed Simwa will have the last laugh.

“I only need a top two finish in the remaining events to clinch the Goty title. I really don’t have to win, but I cannot afford to finish out of the top two positions to be safe. I have only won event this year, the Coast Open and I am still at the helm, so I really don’t have to win, but first or second position is my priority in Eldoret,” said Opati who currently plays off handicap +3.

The event would also act as a warm up for the national team players who will be defending their East Africa Challenge Trophy in Bujumbura, Burundi next week.

National team players who will be in action are Opati who is the captain, Simwa, Vet Lab’s Mathew Omondi and Railway’s James Wangai. The national team is expected to leave the country on Monday. golden goose pas cher golden goose pas cher

Nicholas Rokoine lines his putt at a past event. He will lead a team of 30 professionals at the Mumias Golf Finals slated for Saturday at the Limuru Golf and Country Club.

By FIDEL ONO (Writer)

Over 30 Kenyan professional golfers are expected to play at the Mumias Sugar-sponsored amateur series grand finale at Limuru Country Club on November 3, 2012 after the sugar miller decided to offer a stake of KShs300, 000 for a two-round contest to spice up the finals.

Professional Golfers of Kenya captain, Peter Njiru, has confirmed that 24 professionals had put their names down for the 36-hole competition but expected the number to go up once Brian Njoroge, Hardeep Thethy, Ganeev Giddie and Stefan Andersen return from the MENA Tour in the Arabian Gulf this weekend. The quartet had been participating in the tour in Gulf States of Abu Dhabi, Ras al Khaimah and Dubai as well as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is expected to confirm involvement.

“We are very excited with the opportunity that Mumias Sugar Company has given our professionals and we want to raise the highest number of players possible for the event,” said Njiru.

KCB Order of Merit winner for 2012, Nicholas Rokoine, veteran Elisha Kasuku and former PGK Chairman Charan Thethy and current office holder Riz Charania are also scheduled to play at the chilly highland golf course next month.

The event will be a culmination of nine months of a qualifying series for amateurs that took place in 14 different clubs involving players from over 30 clubs across Kenya. Over 160 players qualified for the finals and will be battling it out for grand prizes courtesy of Mumias Sugar Company.

Mumias Sugar Company Chief Executive, Peter Kebati, was impressed with the enthusiasm by local professionals to play in the event saying: ” it showed the hunger our professionals have for tournaments”.

“We are considering involving them in a small way in our series next year in support of their quest for excellence in the game of golf,” said Kebati.

“Our professionals work really hard but the opportunities are very limited for them. We want to be a part of their progress towards Kenya Open supremacy,” he said.

The Mumias Sugar-sponsored Natural Sweetness Golf Series began in March with qualifiers at Kenya Railways Golf Club and concluded on October 13, 2012 at Nyanza Club. The uniquely structured stroke-play event categorised golfers on the basis of their Confederation of Golf Unions (CONGU) handicaps as follows: 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-25 and 26-36. Two top players qualified from each category.

Other qualifiers took place at Limuru, Nakuru, Kilifi (Vipingo), Mumias, Nairobi and Kiambu. The sugar miller has used the tournament to profile its products such sugar and   the new Mumias Sprinkles mineral  water.

“We have great prizes lined for our finalists in Limuru and expect to witness a great competition,” said Pamela Lutta, Mumias Sugar Company’s director for marketing and corporate affairs. nike air max nike air max