Dismas Indiza in action at Royal Golf Club today.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Dismas Indiza stormed to victory in the fifth and last keg of the KCB Road To The Masters which culminated today at the par 72 Royal Nairobi Golf Club.
The Mumias long hitter savored his first win in four months saying his touch is returning in time for the KCB Karen Masters slated for Karen Country Club from June 27-30.
Indiza extended his lead into the last day when he fired the day’s best score of 2 under par 69 for a gross total of 2 under par 214 after three rounds.
It was the Mumias long hitter’s first title for four months since winning the Safari Tour leg in Karen last February.
“The greens were very fast today but we soldiered on. The last two days have been good to me despite the tough conditions and I’m glad I have had my first Road To The Masters win since the series started. The roughs were also really thick,” said Indiza.
Indiza dropped a shot after he three putted the par four first hole. He then made birdies on holes two and four for a score of 35 on the first nine.
Indiza’s back nine was bogey free also with two birdies in the 10th and 14th for a 34.
PGK captain CJ Wangai and Greg Snow tied for second with 2 over par 218.
Snow carded the day’s second best score of 2 under par 70 with Wangai playing a closing round of levels or 72.
In fourth position was Great Rift’s Justus Madoya on 3 over par 219.
Madoya posted the day’s third best score of 1 under.
The KCB Road To Karen Masters has been to Sigona Golf Club, Nakuru Golf Club, Nyali Golf and Country Club,Thika Sports Club-and now Royal Nairobi.
The pros started their campaign in the second round after the opening round at Sigona coincided with the Safari Tour Golf Series.
A total of 24 amateur golfers have so far qualified for the Karen Masters Pro-Am with the  last six set to be determined this Saturday.
The most exciting bit of the amateur competition in the Road To Masters has been the wildcard which has since been determined by the host clubs .
Some clubs like Nyali and Sigona have resorted to a lucky dip of cards to pick the wildcard slot. Others like Nyali and Thika have preferred to hand the wildcard slot to juniors.
It will be interesting to see who takes the fifth wildcard at Royal Nairobi this weekend.
Whatever is up the sleeves of the amateur players this weekend will be known during prize giving on Saturday.

Final Results-KCB Road To Karen Masters:
1. Dismas Indiza 214 (-2)
T2. CJ Wangai 218 (+2)
T2. Greg Snow 218 (+2)
4. Justus Madoya 219 (+3)
5. Edwin Mudanyi 221(+5)
T6. Njuguna Ngugi 223 (+7)
T6. David Wakhu 223 (+7)
T8. Nelson Mudanyi 225(+9)
T8. JW Karanja 225(+9)
T8. Alfred Nandwa 225(+9)
11. Simon Ngige 226 (+10)

CJ Wangai in action during the third round of the KCB Road to the Karen Masters at Thika Sports Club

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Greg Snow is among 36 professionals lined up for the fifth and last leg of the KCB Road To Karen Masters series which teed off at the par 72 Royal Nairobi Golf Club from Wednesday.

Despite skipping last month’s Nakuru leg, Snow hopes to rediscover the form which saw him rule the Safari Tour Golf Series.

The Muthaiga pro is yet to register victory in the ongoing Road To The Masters series but has the opportunity to do so this week.

He began his Royal campaign from the first tee in the company of Sujan Shah of Windsor and Tony Omuli of Golf Park.

Professional Golfers of Kenya (PGK) Chairman Charan Thethy teed it up with Muthaiga resident professional Nelson Mudanyi and on form Thika Sports Club’s Simon Ngige.

Ngige was the top placed local at the 2019 Magical Kenya Open with an impressive tournament total of 5 under par 279 gross for a joint 25^th position.

Last week, Ngige offered further evidence that he is returning to peak form when he won the inaugural Crown Paints Invitational at Muthaiga.

Mumias long-hitter Dismas Indiza is also in the Royal mix. He is lined up with Eric Ooko of Royal and Nyali’s resident pro NM Ngugi. Playing alongside the pros is amateur player J. Odhiambo who teed off at 12.56pm. CJ Wangai, who is also the PGK Captain and Road To The Masters leader, is playing the first two rounds along with Limuru based John Kagiri and Kenneth Bollo.

Anil Shah, Mohit Mediratta of Sigona Golf Club and Mathew Omondi set off at 11.30am also from the first tee. Omondi of Vet lab is making a comeback after a long layoff.

The local pros are fighting for 27 available slots for the KCB Karen Masters. They are  playing a 54-hole three-day strokeplay event starting Wednesday through to Friday. Amateurs will on Saturday play their usual 18-hole stableford tournament where the last six slots for the Karen Masters Pro-Am will be at stake.

From each of the five clubs that have hosted the series, qualifiers have been the Men Winner, Lady Winner, Guest Winner, KCB Staff Winner, Junior Winner and a Wild Card winner which has been determined by the host club.

KCB Group Director of Marketing and Communications Angela Mwirigi said:“We appreciate the confidence the golfing fraternity has on our brand and we certainly see this as a long term partnership with mutual benefits both for the golfers in the region but for the Bank as well in terms of extending its reach across the country,”

PGK Chairman Charan Thethy on his part noted: “The Karen Masters qualification has not only helped to raise golfing standards in the country but also provided local professionals with an enabling environment to shape up for the Karen Masters. For the amateurs, its a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to brush shoulders with leading local and Sunshine Tour pros.”

The third edition of the KCB Karen Masters will for the second year running serve as a round of the prestigious Sunshine Tour.

 The Royal event has a prize fund of Ksh. 640,000 to be shared by the top 15 finishers. The winner will carry home Ksh. 110,000, according to PGK Captain Wangai.