AIMING HIGH: Thika's Simon Ngige leads a field of 44 pros at the fourth leg of KCB Golf Tour in Arusha.

By JOHN NJUE

A record field of 44 players probably the largest gathering of professional golfers in the East African region, will be converging at the Arusha Gymkhana Golf Club in Arusha Tanzania for the fourth leg of the KCB East Africa Golf Tour.
And as usual, out of the total entry, Kenya, will be represented by a strong contingent of 28 players. The KCB Bank Tanzania Open, a four-rounds tournament for the professional is taking part at Arusha Gymkhana for the second year running.
It is the second event in the four regional events that are offering one million shillings in prize fund. The first regional event within the popular tour took place at Muthaiga Golf Club in March and the third event will be the KCB Bank Rwanda Open from May 25 to 28.
The KCB Divisional Director, Public Affairs and Communications Kepha Bosire said the bank was most delighted with the development and growth of the tour. “This will be the first tour event outside Kenya this year and we are excited with the good number of entries,” he added, “The  tour has grown from strength to strength and we are proud to be helping grow the sport in the region.”
The event in Arusha has also attracted many amateurs from Nairobi which shows how popular the tour has become” said Bosire.
Like the Muthaiga event, this week’s tournament has attracted players outside the East African region. At least one entry each from Ethiopia and Zimbabwe were received though it is most unfortunate that Uganda which will host the fourth regional event in July has only entered one player Deo Akope who emerged the winner of the KCB Bank Tanzania Open last year. Host Tanzania will however have a field of nine players.
“The large entry of more than 40 players in Arusha shows the popularity of the series and I would like to thank KCB for that. I am a bit disappointed though that only one player from Uganda has entered” said Professional Golfers of Kenya (PGK) Chairman, Charan Thethy.
The Kenyan contingent include the new kid in the block Boniface Simwa who turned professional early last week. Simwa was among the two amateurs who made the cut in the recent Barclays Kenya Open at Muthaiga and it will be interesting to see how he fares in his first pro event.
Last year Deo Akope beat Kenya’s Simon Ngige and Richard Ainley in a sudden death playoff, to claim his first KCB East Africa Tour title. He will once again be facing a strong challenge from among others, Simon Ngige, Dismas Indiza, Greg Snow, Nicholas Rokoine, Richard Ainley and Jacob Okello. Currently Indiza leads the series with 46.9 points though he is yet to win any event while next to him is Ngige who won at his home course Thika and later at Nyanza Golf Club Kisumu.
This year KCB has put together a sponsorship package of Sh8.7m for the eight events whose grand finale worth Sh3m will take place at Nyali Golf and Country Club Mombasa from August 10. michaelhandtasches michaelhandtasches

By DAVID FACEY

THE golfing world will continue to flood the fairways with tears this week following the death of the great Seve Ballesteros.

The Spaniard’s funeral on Wednesday will be followed by three days of mourning in the region around his home village of Pedrena.

Fans everywhere will never forget his incredible shot-making skills and the boundless charisma Seve, 54, brought to the game, before losing his long battle with brain cancer in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Caddie Billy Foster, who is now with world No 1 Lee Westwood, remained in close contact with his former employer and the legend’s family.

When we chatted after this year’s Masters, our conversation turned to recollections of Seve’s extraordinary flair – and in particular to a shot Foster tried to talk the maestro out of playing at the 1993 European Masters in Switzerland.

Ballesteros, never the straightest of hitters, had sent his ball way right, and it finished up just a foot behind a wall that separated the course from the clubhouse swimming pool.

Foster recalled: “I begged Seve to play out sideways rather than try to get it over the wall, which was about eight feet high.

“I told him he would either break his wrists or his ball would fly back into his face. But he kept saying ‘No Billy, you don’t understand – I have this shot. I can play it. You will see.’

“So he opened the face of his wedge, somehow got the ball up and over the wall, through a tiny gap in the trees and on to the fairway just short of the green. Then he chipped in for birdie!

“People have been talking about how I went down on my knees and bowed to Phil Mickelson when he holed an amazing chip for a birdie in Houston the week before The Masters. I had only done that once before, and it was that day in Switzerland.

“They have erected a plaque on the Crans-sur-Sierre course to celebrate that shot. We use the word genius too much these days, but Seve was one. You couldn’t take your eyes off him when he was on the course.”

Ballesteros died with his family around him. He was laid to rest in his favourite golfing outfit – blue pullover and blue trousers.

His brother Baldomero told reporters they were the clothes the five-time Major winner usually wore on his “Sundays of glory”.

He said: “Seve said goodbye to us all one by one. He grabbed our hands and whispered in our ears. He did everything showing great fortitude.”

Images of Ballesteros were played on the giant screens at the Madrid Open tennis and a visibly moved Rafael Nadal played with a black ribbon on his shirt.

Ryder Cup-winning skipper Colin Montgomerie said: “Even if you didn’t like golf you loved Seve.

“There are very few legends in the world, Seve is one of them. I never saw such a talent to swing a golf club and we may never see it again. He has left us with so many wonderful memories and his contribution to European golf is unquantifiable.”

Everyone who watched Seve play has memories of his cavalier greatness – whether it was his birdie at the 16th at The Open in Lytham in 1979, making him the ‘Car Park King’ or playing a shot off his knees in France 18 years later.

He won The Open three times – 1979, 1984 at St Andrews and back at Lytham in 1988. Add to that two Masters triumphs in 1980 and 1983 and a record 50 European Tour titles.

He will, perhaps, be best remembered for his Ryder Cup heroics including a record-breaking partnership with Jose Maria Olazabal – 11 wins, two halves and just two defeats in 15 matches – plus his inspirational captaincy at Valderrama in 1997.

Back problems meant his last win came in 1995. Fittingly, it was at the Open de Espana, where the flags this weekend were at half mast.

Seve leaves a glorious legacy as the most exciting and arguably the best-loved player ever to hold a golf club.

Roll of honour

OPEN WINS: 1979 (Lytham & St Annes), 1984 (St Andrews), 1988 (Lytham & St Annes).

MASTERS WINS: 1980, 83.

FIRST TITLE: 1976 Dutch Open aged 19 yrs, 121 days.

RYDER CUP: Competed eight times as a player, scoring 22½ points – Three European wins, one tie. Won as 1997 non-playing captain.

EUROPEAN TOUR WINS: 50

US TOUR WINS: 9

EUROPEAN ORDER OF MERITS: 5 (1976, 77, 78, 86, 91).

GOLFER OF THE YEAR: (1986, 88, 91).

WORLD GOLF HALL OF FAME: 1999.

Courtesy of The Sun canada goose deutschland canada goose deutschland