MISSING IN ACTION: Pro golfer James Lorum relaxes near one of the Kigali Golf Club's greens in a past tournament. He has been excluded in the Professional Golfers of Kenya (PGK) 20-man list for this year's Kenya Open.

By CYNTHIA OMBATI

Nandi Bears professional James Lorum was one of the note able absentees when the Professional Golfers of Kenya (PGK) yesterday released a list of 20 local pros to represent the country at this year’s Kenya Open Golf tournament set to run between March 29 and April 1 at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club.

No local player has ever won the prestigious tournament since its inception and local fans will be having high expectations this year after watching the pros post impressive scores in recent tournaments.

The closest a Kenyan has come to clinching the tournament was in 1998 when Jacob Okelo tied with Argentine Ricardo Gonzalez, before losing in a sudden- death playoff, but PGK chairman Charan Thethy believes the locals are capable of a surprise this time noting that the players have come of age, thanks to a number of professional tournaments sprucing up.

Thethy said they used their criteria in selecting the team, where they gave priority to their order of merit, those who made the cut during last year and professionals who have been playing outside the country.

Former golfer of the year Sullivan Muthugia who turned professional last year as well as Railway’s Njuguna Ngugi were some of the surprise inclusion in the list.

“We used our order of merit to select the 20 players to play at the Kenya Open. We also gave consideration to the players who made the cut during last year’s tournament as well as those who play in tournaments outside the country like the Sunshine Tour, so I am confident we have a very strong side this time,” Charan said.

He said the Kenya Open Golf Limited were also planning to run a qualifier closer to the time of the open for those who have not made it on this list.

The cash prize of the tournament will remain Sh22.2 million (200, 000 Euros) and that the event will bring together a total of 150 players. nike air max blancas nike air max blancas

Windsor pro Riz Charania putts on his way to winning the KCB East African Tour at Muthaiga.

By ENOCK NGOME

Windsor’S Rizwan Charania won the second leg of the KCB East African Golf Tour after amassing a total score of eight under par 205 (71, 65, 69) after three rounds at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club at the weekend.

The feat saw Charania pocket Sh190, 000 and an automatic ticket to play in this year’s Kenya Open Golf Tournament that is expected to run between March 29 and April 1 at the same venue.

During the final round on Saturday, Charania had a bogey free first nine where he managed to collect three birdies at the first hole and back-to-back 7th and 8^th holes.

Rizwan had a challenging second nine managing to score one over par after dropping shots on the 12^th, 13^th and 16^th holes but he managed to collect birdies on the 10^th and 15^th holes.

Mumias Sugar’s Dismas Indiza was on hot pursuit emerging second overall despite gunning four under on the final day. After having a false start that saw him play three over par 74 in the first round, Indiza managed a total of five under par 208 (74, 67, 67) to walk away with the runner-up cash prize of Sh151, 000.

On the final day, he scored two under par in the first nine and played a similar two under par in the second nine.

The KCB East African Golf Tour also saw impressive performance from Muthaiga’s Nicholas Rokoine who the previous weekend was crowned the winner of the inaugural Kenya Airways Pro Am.

Rokoine was third on three under par 210 (72, 69, 69) and pocketed Sh112, 000 while Thika’s Sullivan Muthugia tied with Sigona’s John Kiondo in the fourth position on one under par 212 to earn Sh80, 000 apiece.

Muthugia scores were 74, 69, 69, while Kiondo who won the first round where he sunk a hole-in-one, managed scores of 69, 69, 74 in the three rounds.

The third round of the KCB East African Golf Tour 2012 will be held at the nine-holeNyanza Golf Club in Kisumu in April.

The Grand Finale will take place in August at the Nyali Golf and Country Club in Mombasa. pandora pendientes pandora pendientes