Members of Muthaiga Golf Club celebrate with the Tannahill Shield after winning the competition at Royal Club over the weekend.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Giants Muthaiga Golf Club team Sunday beat Western Kenya by a big margin of nine points to reclaim the Tannahill Shield they lost to hosts Royal Nairobi four years ago.

During the final round of the Jamii Telcom sponsored tournament, the Muthaiga side which included a number a number of juniors, beat Railway 5-3, then made a clean sweep against Vet Lab (8-0) for 13 points, which gave them a total aggregate of 48 points.

The last time Muthaiga won the Tannahill Shield, which was marking its 97th anniversary, was 2017.

“We had a lot of support from the management at Muthaiga, plus we had a young team where our juniors were fired up and ready for this year’s tournament particularly after winning the Nairobi District Foursomes at the beginning of the year,” said club captain Dr. Khushil Nathwani, who also thanked the team captain Brian Njoroge and manager Ganeev Giddie for their coordination of the team.

During their Railway match, Muthaiga’s team of Bhavnish Chandaria and Taimur Malik beat Railway’s John Lejirmah, the Kenya Amateur Match Play champion, and his partner James Kamenchu 2-up.

Daniel Kiragu and Bo Ciera lost to Fidelis Kimanzi and Edwin Murungi 3-2, but Muthaiga later picked up two more points via Neer Chandaria and John Gitonga, who beat David Mbatia and Paul Orawo 6-5.

Njoroge Kibugu and Kushil Nathwani, who were un beaten in the tournament, halved with Edward Manywanda Kash Padam.

The 2021 Tannahill Shield arrives at the Royal Nairobi Golf Club in a chopper at the weekend.

In the Muthaiga and Vet Lab match, Bhavnish Chandaria and Taimur Malik beat Amit Modi and junior player Steve Orinda 2-up.

Daniel Kiragu and Bo Siera won 2-1 against Leo Zurovac and Isaac Makokha, while Njoroge Kibugu and Kushil Nathwani won 1-up against Krish Baiju and Watson Burugu. Finally, the last pair of Neer Chandaria and John Gitonga beat Jack Mwangi and Steve D’s Souza 6-4.

On the other hand, Western halved with Royal and beat Mombasa 5-3 for nine points to finish second overall with 39 points, while Limuru was third on 34 after beating Karen 6-2 and halved with Sigona.

Vet Lab, whose team was made up of juniors Leo Zurovac (17), Krish Baiju (15) and Steve Orinda, came fourth overall with 32 points.

Hosts Royal, who won the Shield in 2018 and 2019, tied with Railway on 31 points, while Mombasa finished seventh on 28 points, one better than Sigona and Karen was last on 18 points.

Speaking during the prize giving ceremony, Jamii Telcom chairman Joshua Chepkwony, whose company has supported the event for the past five years, urged the management of Royal to consider reviving the junior event, which use to take place before the main event.

“The survival of this game will depend on a strong junior programmes and this is one of the reasons why we accepted sponsoring it because we saw a number of teams embracing juniors. You can introduce a 55 years and over one day curtain raiser, but the emphasis should be on juniors,” said Chepkwony.

Besides Jamii Telcom and Kenyatta National Hospital, other sponsors were Development Bank, EABL, CPF, Instabet, Development Bank, EABL, Lucozade, AAR Healthcare, NCA, Crown Paints, Monster Energy, Keringet, Merican Limited, and Tysons limited.

Kenya Rugby Sevens Player, Collins Injera, follows the flight of his tee shot at the Kiambu Golf Club leg of the NCBA Golf Series on Saturday, August 7, 2021.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Kiambu Golf Club’s Charles Karanja Mbugua was crowned the tenth winner of the ongoing 2021 NCBA Golf Series after he emerged winner of his Club’s leg of the Series over the weekend.

The handicap 24 player carded a round of 43 points to claim the top spot, on countback, ahead of Dr. Paul Kaumbutho (Handicap 12), who was crowned winner in the men’s category. Taking the runner-up position in the category was Martin Murigi (Handicap 18), who finished the day with a round of 42 points. 

In the ladies’ category, Lucy Gichimbiri (Handicap 23) took home the top honours, on countback, after ending the round with a 36-points haul ahead of Grace Kibe (Handicap 17), who secured the runner-up position. 

In the Nines, GW Kuria and Stanley Mbugua claimed bragging rights in the first and second nine, respectively, as NCBA’s Richie Subayeni emerged staff winner with 40 points. 

In other events, Moses Mburu took home the Longest Drive trophy in the men’s category while Susan Kanyora claimed it for the ladies. In the junior golfers’ category, handicap 37 Alpha Ndung’u won 37 points after the round. 

The Kiambu Golf Club leg of the Series was the tenth in the 21-event calendar, marking the tournament’s halfway point. It attracted a field of 176 golfers. 

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, James Mugo, Chief Operating Officer, Digital Business, NCBA Group Digital Business, said the Series had received positive reception, with over 1,500 golfers taking part in the event so far.

“This has been a great competitive weekend. Since we began in January, we have seen great progression of strength to strength, and we are looking forward to the remaining events as we take the momentum of the event over to those other clubs,” he said.

Speaking at the same event, Philip Ondieki, Club Captain, Kiambu Golf Club appreciated NCBA for partnering with the club to host the tournament, saying it demonstrates a steadfast commitment to the growth and development of the sport, as many sponsors withdraw from similar engagements owing to restraints occasioned by COVID-19.

“We are pleased that NCBA has sponsored this weekend’s tournament. It has been a difficult year with the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to most sponsors withdrawing from sponsorship engagements. We, therefore, don’t take it for granted to have NCBA here and make the day a success,” he said.

So far, the tournament has now been played at 10 golf clubs countrywide – Thika, Vetlab, Kitale, Sigona, Mombasa, Nyali, Nyeri, Nanyuki, Karen, and Kiambu, with respective winners converging at the Series finale, which will be held at the Karen Country Club in December this year. 

The Series now moves to the Nakuru Golf Club next weekend for the eleventh event in the calendar.