Margret Njoki of Golf Park putts at a recent event.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Fresh from winning the Kenya Ladies Open Amateur Matchplay Championship last weekend, Mercy Nyanchama will be back in action on Saturday for the 83^rd edition of the Eileen Belcher tournament at her home course Vet Lab Golf Club.

Nyanchama who beat Nancy Wairimu 3/2 last weekend will once again come up against her tough opponent in the 54-hole competition which has attracted 96 lady golfers playing foursomes match play off-scratch for all three divisions. Other top players expected to give Nyanchama a run for her money include home player Agnes Nyakio, youngster Chanelle Wangari and faith Chemutai of Nandi Bears.

The two-day event which was originally known as the Inter District Cup has attracted lady golfers from all over the country.

The cup was presented by Eileen in 1937 to encourage match-play between the districts. Belcher was the first Chairman of the Kenya Ladies Golf Union (KLGU) and over the years, the format has changed and is currently played in four zones. Each of the four zones is made up of several clubs forming a team of three pairs, with one reserve.

The scoring during the competition will be two points for a match won and one point for a match halved. Since 2021 the clubs have been zoned in four categories, Red Zone (Royal, Sigona and Western Region), Green Zone (Vetlab, Windsor, Railway and Central Region), Yellow Zone (Muthaiga, Limuru and Coast Region) and Blue Zone (Karen, Golf Park and Rift Valley Region).
The winners of Division A will be feted with the Eileen Belcher Trophy and must be players whose handicap index range from +5.0 to 14.0.

The Sinclair Quaich award will present to the winners of Division B whose handicap index ranges between 11.3 and 20.4, while the Palmer Trophy will be presented to winners of Division C whose handicap index range from 20.5 to 28.9. The competition is played off a scratch handicap.

The Sinclair Quaich was presented by Mary Sinclair, KLGU Chairman 1984. The Palmer Trophy was presented by Edward Palmer, in 1982, when his daughter Susan Harworth was KLGU Chairman. Edward Palmer is Eileen Belcher’s younger brother.

Mercy Nyanchama of Vet Lab kisses the Ladies Matchplay trophy after being declared the winner.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Vet Lab’s Mercy Nyanchama overwhelmed Nancy Wairimu 3/2 to win this year’s Kenya Ladies Open Amateur Matchplay Championship held at Muthaiga Golf Club at the weekend.

Nyanchama playing off handicap index 1.5, said in her winner’s speech that her swing worked well for her during the tournament and thanked Kenya Ladies Golf Union (KLGU) for the support and training sessions they organised for the elite team.

As part of the implementation of the KLGU strategic plan, the Council is keen to continue training lady golfers across the country mainly to grow the number of lady golfers and also to ensure they that are well equipped with the requisite skills at every level.

In Div A Rachel Ndei handicap index 12.1 also from Vetlab beat Mwongeli Nzioka 2 up. In Div B Jane Koech handicap index 17.6 from Eldoret Club beat Yusra Butt 2 up.

The knock-out event took place from Friday 30th September to Sunday 2nd October sponsored by Kenya Ladies Golf Union (KLGU). There was a high entry of 122 ladies over the three days in the four competitions. The players were in several divisions; Championship Division – 10, Division A – 14, Division B – 32, Statbleford Subsidiary – 52, Foursomes Subsidiary -14

For those who started off on Friday morning and made it to the finals on Sunday morning, it was an impressive 90 holes in total over 72 hours. This event was first held in Kenya in 1932 at the Royal Nairobi Golf Club. That is 90 years ago. At the time it was run by Kenya Golf Union as the Kenya Ladies Golf Union only came into existence 5 years later in 1937. The Champion at that inaugural championship was a lady called Mary Leonard. The runner-up was Mrs Frank who lost to her worthy opponent 3/2 holes to go. Similarly, at this 90th anniversary our champion this year, Mercy Nyanchama, beat her worthy opponent Nancy Wairimu 3/2, what a great coincidence! Indeed, history is known to repeat itself.

In the Foursomes Subsidiary; Hellen Manyara/Margaret Njoki scored 37 Stableford points beating Jennifer Ngure/Jennifer Kariuki who were runners-up with 28 points. In the Sunday subsidiary, Div A; Naomi Wafula playing off handicap 3 took the lead with 38 points, Hellen Chepkwony handicap 19 was the runner-up with 36 points, while Nyambura Gitimu handicap 20 was third with 33 points. The Div B winner was Minnie Mbue handicap 29 playing 39 points while Sara Mkok handicap 27 came in second with 38 points, Mary Wainaina handicap 23 was third with 36 points.