Elisha Kasuku gestures during the interview today.

By CORRESPONDENT

Veteran professional golfer Elisha Kasuku has called on Junior Golf Foundation (JGF) to change their mode of selecting the national junior team, to give room to brilliant juniors to represent the country.

Kasuku’s remarks come in the back drop of terrible performance by the Kenyan junior team at the Africa Junior Golf Challenge in Zambia recently.

All members of the team, Daniel Nduva, Mathew Wahoma, Adel Balala and Tahir Mohammed, come from Nyali Golf and Country Club and they finished sixth out 12 participating countries at the continental event.

“It sad to lose even to Uganda who don’t have a proper junior program compared to Kenya. With two slots up for grabs to feature at the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan for the first time, this was the best chance for the Kenyan juniors to qualify for the global show case and they wasted the golden chance by finishing sixth,” said Kasuku who has mentored many top golfers in the country.

He added: “It is not realistic to have a specific junior team with the same players year in, year out. Some one may be sick or even have a dip in form, so having a qualifying tournament that brings all juniors from all parts of the country to pick the national team from the best of the best is the only way that would guarantee a serious national team that can compete against the best out there.”

Royal, Muthaiga, Eldoret and Great Rift Club have produced a number of quality junior players who feel if given a chance they could represent the country. That was proved during the Easter tournament where juniors from Royal Nairobi Golf Club overwhelmed their Nyali opponents. cheap nike air max 90 online cheap nike air max 90 online

KCB Golf Tour’s tournament director Elisha Kasuku (left) poses with KCB’s head of business marketing Wanyi Mwaura (center) and PGK chairman Riza Charania during a cheque presentation today.

By FIDEL ONO

This year’s KCB Golf tour has landed a lucrative sponsorship package of Sh 24 million.

The tour will see a total of 45 local professionals take part in it as it visits five venues before of the grand finale.

Order of merit winner, Mumias’ Dismas Indiza will be keen to defend his title, so is Vet Lab’s Brian Njoroge who won last year’s grand finale at Nyali. They will, however, receive stiff competition from past winners like Simon Ngige, Anil Shah and a host of newly turned professional players including Ken Mabele of Airforce Club.

“This year we have reinvigorated KCB Golf Tour series by developing a model that will see our professional golfers tour the regions’ fairways and fly the KCB flag higher. As part of improving this tour, the top three golfers will be fully sponsored by KCB to play during the Sunshine Tour in South Africa later in the year,” said Wanyi Mwaura, the head of business marketing at KCB, during the tour’s launch today.

She added: “It is our hope that this incentive will make this tour more competitive and improve the profile for this event, therefore, I would like to encourage all professionals to go out there have fun and sink in some golf balls.”

The tour which is celebrating it’s eighth anniversary will tee off at the newly opened Thika Greens Golf Resort on May 16 and 17, where participants will be battling for a share of the Sh500, 000 prize money available.

The second leg will be held at the par 72 Royal Nairobi Golf Club between July 8 and 11, where the prize money is Sh1million and from Royal action will move to the Nyaza Golf Club on August 15-16 where the prize money will be Sh500, 000.

Nyali Golf and Country Club, the traditional host of the tour’s grand finale, will this year not host the climax, but will play host to the final leg of the tour between September 23 and 26 where the prize money is a lucrative Sh3 million.

This year, the finale will for the first time be held at the Great Rift Country Club between November 14 and 15 and the prize money for the event is Sh500, 000, with a bonus of Sh200, 000.

“This year, KCB is partnering with Professional Golfers of Kenya with a sponsorship package of Sh24 million. This money will go towards supporting the entire series, prize money for the pros and also cater for the administrative costs for the entire five-legged series across the country,” said Mwaura.

PGK chairman Riz Charania lauded the gesture and noted that it would go a long way in promoting the sport especially in the level of the professionals. air max 95 air max 95