Simon Ngugi follows his tee shot during the sixth leg of the Barclays Golf Circuit at the Thika Sports Club. He emerged the junior winner.

By CORRESPONDENT

A record field of 248 players will on Saturday converge at the par 72 Sigona Golf Club for the seventh leg of the ongoing Barclays Golf Circuit seeking tickets to play at the tournament’s grand finale slated for February.
Tomorrow’s event comes two weeks after a successful tour of Thika where home player Watson Burugu playing off handicap eight posted 39 stableford points to lead a group of nine qualifiers from Thika, Ruiru and Kiambu to next year’s finale.
The seventh leg of the circuit promises stiff competition as only limited slots will be available for finale out of the large field, the biggest ever witnessed since the circuit started.
Sigona captain Gikuo Ndirangu has promised players a good round, noting that the course is in a great condition and that the fairways and greens are well manicured.
He, however, warned against the roughs saying that they will be torturous for who ever finds himself there.
Barclays is working with Kenya Golf Union to raise resources throughout the circuit that will go towards supporting charitable initiatives that enhance the livelihoods of communities through
financial literacy, enterprise skills and life skills.
Commenting on the weekend tourney, Barclays Bank of Kenya Managing Director Jeremy Awori said, “The pro-am is a dream for any amateur Golfer where they get an opportunity to play with top European professionals that grace the Barclays Kenya Open. Courtesy of Barclays Hospitality, they will also all get season tickets and VIP guest passes to the Barclays Hospitality Tent at the 2014 Barclays Kenya Open.”
From Sigona, the action will move to Nyali Golf and Country Club on November 9 to be followed with Windsor Golf County Club on November 22 for the Barclays CSR Golf. The grand finale will be in Karen Golf Club on February 22. nike air max cheap uk mens nike air max cheap uk mens

Tony Omuli follows his tee shot during a past tournament. He has been named in the national team for the East Africa Golf Challenge, which starts on Saturday.

By DONALD WELLINGTON

Regional champions Kenya have unveiled their squad for the 15^th East Africa Golf Challenge slated for October 28 to November 1 at the Great Rift Valley Golf Resort.

John Karichu (Limuru), Tony Omuli (Golf Park), Robinson Owiti (Vet Lab) and Daniel Nduva (Nyali), who are in Swaziland for the Africa Championship, are among nine players named for the annual event.

Justus Madoya (Great Rift Valley), William Odera (Kericho) and the Nyali trio of Tahir Mohamed, Mathew Wahome and Adel Balala.

“The team is a mix of juniors and senior players. By selecting juniors, it is a bold move and one of the steps aimed to developing junior golf in the country,” said Kenya Golf Union Chairman Francis Okwara yesterday. Okwara will double as the Tournament Director with Peter Warui and Anil Shah as coaches.

“The team has been selected as per the KGU Policy of Team Selection through GOTY Standings and Junior Golf Foundation’s Order Of Merit as at Karen Challenge played on September 7-8, 2013,” said Okwara.

He added, “This competition will go a long way in the firming up the East African community and to create the regional visibility. The competition will further provide a strategic direction on the development and promotion of Youth and Sports Tourism in the Country. It will also devise focused strategic and operational marketing plan for the country’s competitiveness and sustainability to increase its share of the global youth and sports tourism “niche” markets and make Kenya the preferred youth and sports tourism destination in the world.”

The East Africa Golf Challenge is a golf tournament involving members of East Africa Golf Federation. The competition was first played in 1999 in the Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club then comprising only three countries – Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.

It has grown steadily with the admission of Rwanda in 2004 and Burundi in 2005 to embrace the five East African Community states. This year’s event has attracted six countries namely Kenya (host), three-time winners Uganda, 2002 champions Tanzania, and Burundi, Rwanda and Ethiopia. Kenya have won the regional trophy 10 times.

“This year, we extended the invitation to other members of Zone V region and we got Ethiopia on board,” said Okwara.

The format involves four rounds of golf with singles, foursomes, four ball better ball and final singles. Each country has eight players and a reserve.

The championship takes place every year on a rotating basis among the five East Africa Community states. cheap air max 90 mens cheap air max 90 mens