Head of Safaricom Enterprise Business Unit Evans Nyagah(left)hands a trophy and a fully paid ticket for the grand finale of the Safaricom Challenge to the Nanyuki winner Richard Kabugi during the qualifying round at the club.

By DISMAS ONYANGO
Lying on a 2,500 acres piece of land at North Coast, the magnificent Vipingo Ridge Baobab Course will be hosting over 120 golfers for the 2011/2012 Safaricom Business Golf Challenge Grand finale this weekend; 28thApril.
The countrywide series which kicked off last year in August at the par 73 Windsor Golf and country club has attracted over 4000 golfers during all the eighteen qualifying rounds with the  top two in each round making it for the grand finale.
Launched eight months down the line, the series was meant to create a good networking and contact sessions between the business and and all core Safaricom Customers all over the country.
The Challenge has been to; Windsor,Thika,Nakuru,Nyali, Kakamega,Kitale,Machakos,Muthaiga,Vetlab,Railways,Kiambu,Royal Nairobi,Nanyuki,Karen,Limuru,Kisumu and Kericho Golf Clubs.

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Toyota Kenya Golf Day winner, Kange Saiti (center) with Naoki Takeuchi, Toyota Kenya MD and Dennis Awori, Toyota Kenya Chairman

By DISMAS ONYANGO

Kange Saiti is the winner of the annual Toyota Kenya GolfDay. Siati, a handicap-17 golfer from the Kenya Railway Golf Club, posted animpressive 41 stable ford points at the Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club tolay claim to the rotating Toyota Kenya Golf Day Championship Trophy. Saitirevved through the first nine, opening with two pars on the par-four 1stand 2nd holes, dropped a shot on the par-five 3rd beforepicking up other pars on the par-three 4th, the par-three 8thand the par-four 9th where he narrowly missed birdie after animpressive nine-iron shot into the green. On the back nine, Saiti played conservatively through the 10th,11th and 12th holes, before pushing the peddle and firinga birdie on the downhill par-three 13th, aptly nick-namedtee-to-coffee due to the tendacy for golfers to hit their balls left into thecoffee plantation! The Champion closed with two pars on the long par-three 17thand another well-deserved par on the par-four 18th, the signatureisland green at Windsor.

Commenting after his round, Saiti thanked the sponsors for awell organized event. “ I have not been playing much golf and winning thisprestigious event is a welcome break; Toyota has done an amazing job organizingsuch a great event,”  Siati said. “ Iwill hopefully be around next year to defend this trophy.”

Congratulating the winner, the Toyota Kenya MD, NaokiTakeuchi said Windsor was a true test of golf. “On behalf of Toyota Kenya Iwould like to thank everyone who came and played in this annual event, I wouldalso like to congratulate the winners, Windsor is a very challenging golfcourse and I am impressed,”  Takeuchisaid. “ I also played today, and I am afraid I lost far too many golf balls inthe Windsor bushes to have had any chance of victory.”

Sigona’s Tanvir Khan finished in second place also on 41points, losing to Siati on count-back whilst Windsor veteran golfer JamesMuguiyi was the men runner up with an impressive 40 points. Muguiyi also walkedaway with the nearest to the pin prize and he was a member of the winning teamalongside Dr. Frank Mwongera, John Gatharia and Anthony Gathigi.  The lady winner was  N. Phintham on 40 points beating Rebecca Gikuru to second place.

The nines went to John Evans on 24 points and DG Okello on21 ponts. The nearest to the pin prize for ladies went to M. Nijiskaus whilstthe longest drive prizes went to Chris Wood and Elizabeth Mbuthia. Mary Chegewas recognized for “ best-effort” prize. pandora joyeria pandora joyeria