WELL OUT: Jay Sandhu chips the ball from a bunker during a past event. He finished third at the Sigona Bowl.

By CORRESPONDENT

National team player Kenneth Bollo at the weekend broke the jinx to win his maiden Sigona Bowl title at the par 72 course after a nerve cracking sudden death play-off against home player Sujan Shah on the 18^th hole.

It was a bright start for the player who finished a close second at last season’s Golfer Of The Year (GOTY) standings, given that Sigona Bowl is the season opener, the first event in the Goty series.

According to People Daily, a poor final day round of 78 gross saw Bollo who plays off scratch, tied with Shah on a total score of 223 after three rounds and the winner had to be decided through a sudden death shoot-out on the final hole just near the club house. He sunk a birdie to win the contest.

“Today I played bad golf because the rains affected my game but all in all I’m happy to have won the title to set the pace for the remaining tournaments. It a big victory for me given that during the same tournament last year I finished 10^th,” said Bollo who is a member of Royal Nairobi Golf Club.

Bollo on the final day dropped shots on holes two, four, nine and 10 then had a double-bogey on hole 17. He had, however, enjoyed good golf in the first two rounds, playing 74 gross in the first round before posting one under par 71 in the second round where he sunk six birdies.

“ I now want to shift my focus to the second Goty event, the Mount Kenya Championships slated for Nyeri Golf Club on February 6 and 7. The ongoing constructions at my club Royal have affected my game, but I will have to look for a way of dealing with that to ensure that my form remains high,” Bollo said.

Shah posted 79 gross in the first round, 71 gross in the second round and 73 gross in the third and final round.

Jay Sandhu also of Royal was third on a total of 225 gross (75, 76, 74), while Mike Kisia of Vet Lab was fourth on 227 gross (73, 79, 74) and John Ndichu tied with Alfred Nandwa, M. Kanjumba, Dennis Saikwa, S. Njoroge and reigning Goty champion John Karichu on 229 gross.

Selected Sigona Bowl results:

1. Kenneth Bollo 223 (74, 71, 78)) won on play-off

2. Sujan Shah 223 (79, 71, 73)

3. Jay Sandhu 225 (75, 76, 74)

4. Mike Kisia 227 (73, 79, 75)

5. John Ndichu 229 (83, 73, 73)

Alfred Nandwa 229 (81, 76, 72)

Dr M. Kanjumba 229 (79, 72, 78)

John Karichu 229 (79, 68, 82)

S. Njoroge 229 (77, 80, 72)

Dennis Saikwa 229 (76, 73, 80) nike air max trainers nike air max trainers

Vet Lab’s Kenneth Bollo at a past tournament.

By CORRESPONDENT

Vet Lab Sports Club’s Edwin Mudanyi completed a five under par total of 211 gross to emerge the best in the two-day 54-hole Africa Amateur Strokeplay Championship qualifying round at the par 72 Sigona Golf Club course on Tuesday.

The handicap one, who has been in a tremendous form over the past couple of months, shot two under par 70 in yesterday’s final round of the Kenya Golf Union -organised qualifier to beat Royal Nairobi’s Kenneth Bollo by eight shots.

The 19-year-old Mudanyi, who is following in the footsteps of his three professional golfer brothers Boniface Simwa, Nelson Simwa and Nelson Mudanyi, attributed his excellent performance on focus and short game practice.

“My brother Nelson, who is on a short break from his base in South Africa, has been giving me some lessons,” said Mudanyi, the latest golfer in the family. “We decided to spend Christmas holidays here in Nairobi, therefore, we had all the time to practice.”

In the final round, Mudanyi played a clean two under par first nine, which included birdies on the first two holes. He then birdied par three-11th and dropped a shot at the 14th to level the back nine that resulted in the day’s 70.

“The greens were a bit challenging but I remained focused because I knew what I wanted to achieve,” ‘ said Mudanyi. “I am very happy with my game at the moment and I would like to play as many national events as possible this season.”

Also firing two under par 70 was Bollo, who however finished second, having started with rounds of 76 and 73 on Monday for a total of 219. Third was Limuru’s John Kariuki with 223 after a 76 in the final round.

Making a comeback after a four-month suspension, Railway’s Alfred Nandwa shot two over par 74 for 226 to make the top four.

“The greens were a bit better today but I just could not sink even a footer,” said Nandwa. “I will try and work out my putting before the 2016 season gets under way.”

The top four finishers will represent Kenya in next month’s inaugural Africa Amateur Strokeplay Championship at Leopard Creek Golf and Country Club , South Africa.

Top finishers:

211 Edwin Mudanyi (Vet Lab) 69, 72, 70

219 Kenneth Bollo (Royal) 76, 73, 70

223 John Kariuki (Limuru) 76, 71, 76

226 Alfred Nandwa (Railway) 74, 78, 74

229 Paul Muchangi (Limuru) 74, 78, 74

229 Anthony Kinuthia (Golf Park) 76, 75, 78

230 Sujan Shah (Sigona) 77, 78, 75

230 Jeff Kubwa (Muthaiga) 76, 77, 77

235 Anthony Irungu (Muthaiga) 79, 77, 79 cheap air max 90 mens cheap air max 90 mens