GET IN: Gill Recizac of Windsor putts during the fourth qualifier of the Dasani Golf Gala on Saturday. Photo By James Waindi.

By JAMES WAINDI

Home player Kapoor Rajput posted the best score so far in the ongoing Dasani Golf Gala during the fourth qualifier held at the par 72 Windsor Golf and Country Club on Saturday, but the score of 46 was not enough for his team to win the event.

Playing off handicap 19, Rajput anchored his side to second spot with a total of 122 points, only losing to the eventual winners on count back. He dropped a shot on the first hole, a par four, but recovered with a par on the par four second before sinking a birdie on the par five third.

He dropped a shot on the par three fourth hole, had back-to-back pars on the par five fifth and par four sixth, but tumbled on the par four seventh with a double bogey, before leveling the eighth and ninth for a first nine score of 22.

In the second nine he started poorly with a double bogey on the par four 10^th, but had level pars on the 11^th, 12^th and 13^th, before dropping shots on the 14^th and 15^th then leveled the remaining three holes for a score of 24.

Prior to the Windsor event, 40 points had been the highest score, which was realized at Thika Sports Club during the second qualifier.

The tournament was, however won by the team of Paresh Shah, C. V. Shah, Nishit Haria and Dr Gohil on a score of 122 points. Paresh playing off handicap 17 had 41 points, same to handicap 14 Gohil, while handicap 16 C.V Shah had 40 points and Haria playing off handicap 15 was the team’s weakest link on 38 points.

Haria’s score, however, turned to be decisive as it was the tie breaker against the second placed team.

“Today everything just worked in our favour and I hope it will be the same during the Grand Finale at Karen Club come September 29,” said Prakesh during the prize giving ceremony.

The second team was made up of Rajput (46), handicap 13 Nashir Abdullah (40pts), handicap 19 Ali Merali (36pts) and handicap 18 N. Kassam who was their weakest link on 31 points.

The top two teams booked a ticket to the Gala’s grand finale. The reserve team was made up of Jawad Jaffer (38 pts), L. Khan (38pts), H. Khan (36 pts) and S. Walji (27pts), who amassed a total of 112 points.

E. Njenga playing off handicap 20 was guest winner on 42 points, while Alishan Merali won the junior prize on 36 points.

The grand prize this year will see the winning team of four players travel to Dubai to attend the Grand Finale of the European Tour, the DP World Tour Championships at the Jumeirah Golf Estates. While in Dubai, they will also have the opportunity to see Europe’s top 60 money earners on the 2012 Order of Merit battle it out for a 1.3 million winner’s cheque.

“In addition, they will play at some of the best golf courses in the region, including the Dubai Creek Course and the challenging Faldo Course at the Emirates Golf Club, a course designed by former world number 1 and six-time major Champion Sir Nick Faldo,” said Coca-Cola General Manager East Africa Peter Njonjo who graced the prize giving ceremony. air max air max

GOING INTERNATIONAL: A number of lucrative prizes are put on display at the third Dasani Golf Gala qualifier held at VetLab last weekend. The course will official be turned into 18-holes this Saturday.

By JAMES WAINDI

Kenya’s longest championship course is set to be unveiled this Saturday when members of Vetlab Sports Club play on their course for the first time as an 18-hole championship course.  Over 300 players, including members, have been invited to play in the inaugural tournament exclusively sponsored by members of the club.

This will be the culmination of a three-year rebuilding process that has seen the club acquire 65 acres of land from the Directorate of Veterinary Services for expansion. The expansion has been fully funded by members and is estimated to have cost in excess of KShs50 million.

“We are very excited to be finally playing on an 18-hole championship course. Credit to our members for their commitment   that has seen them pump in a lot of money to keep the project going,” said Captain Kuria Kihara.

The par 72 course   will have championship players covering 7767 yards, amateurs playing over 7030 yards and ladies doing an impressive 6413 yards. It has some of the longest par 5’s in the country and a great view as well as layout.

“We believe this is the longest course in this country that also offers players an exciting challenge from tee to green,” said Paresh Jai, a member of the club who has designed the course at no cost.

The course has four par 5’s, with the third hole playing over 706 yards for championship players and 660 yards for amateurs. The fifth and eighth holes play over 620 yards and 599 yards for amateurs (669 and 632 for professionals), respectively.

“One of the challenges members have always faced on our previous course was limited length and little challenge. We have been able to address both by also creating some of the most demanding greens that require accuracy and skill,” said jai.

The architecture of the greens has taken into account the need for quick flood-draining   and essential ingredients that ensure players can hit the kind of shots they want and achieve desired results. Bunkers have also been built to allow for quick drainage.

An excited Jai took members of the club’s golf committee on a tour-and-play of the 18-hole course which featured some of the club’s top amateurs on Tuesday. As a result of his impressive work Jai has been recently contracted to design three private golf courses in Kenya.

Vetlab has this year been drafted to host a Golfer-Of- The-Year (GOTY) event by Kenya Golf Union and will be welcoming the country’s top amateurs to Kabete in August for the Kabete Open. The club currently lies second in the Nairobi District League standings having posted impressive wins against Muthaiga and Royal Nairobi golf clubs in recent weeks. air max 95 air max 95