Tom Waiharo follows his tee shot in a past NIC Bank event.

By ENOCK NGOME

The NIC Bank golf day moves to the 9-hole, par-70 Nyanza Golf Club, on the shores of Lake Victoria, thisweekend in a tournament expected to attract over 120 golfers drawn from hosts Nyanza, Kakamega, Nandi and Kisii.

According to the host Captain, Tobias See, the golf course is in top condition despite the dry spell in the region.

“The weather conditions have not been very favorable, but our greens are in excellent condition” See said. “For the majority of the golfers at Nyanza, the golf course now minus the rough, is not much of a challenge, however, the slightly firmer greens will give everyone a challenge; stopping the golf ball on the short holes is going to require special skills.”

The event at Nyanza will be played off the amateur tee boxes in the popular stable-ford format with the earliest players teeing off just after 7am.

“We have a huge field and we do need to get golfers on the course early,” See added. “We expect the last players to tee off at about 1.30pm.” Golfers will find the opening hole, the dog-leg left par-five a little bit easier in the dry conditions but they will equally find the par-3 fourth and the par-3 seventh holes difficult. The short par-four sixth hole will play even shorter in the dry conditions as will the hardest hole on the golf course, the par-four third.

Players to watch in Nyanza include the Club champion George Oricho and handicap-6 golfer Peter Owino who has just returned from the annual Coast Open (Barry Cup) tournament in Mombasa. Captain See will be leading the team of George Oricho, Joseph Atito and David Balaka. NIC Bank will be represented by Head of Business, Tim Gitonga, Head of Card Business Michael Kinuthia, Kisumu Branch Service Delivery Manager Peter Mutai.

This is the second time NIC Bank has been to Nyanza Golf Club in its nationwide golf series aimed at introducing their new offerings to their potential customers. air max schwarz air max schwarz

By ENOCK NGOME

The Scott family of father Hugh, mother Hilary and their boys Alastair and James are the winners of the 13^th edition of the Dasani Golf Gala Championship, held at the at the par-72, 18-hole Karen Country Club. The Scotts, an avid golfing family, finished with 113 team points to secure one of four coveted spots into the Dasani Golf  Gala Grand Finale.

20-year old James Scott, the youngest member of the team, anchored the team to victory with a superb, one-over par gross score for a total of 39 points. James, made birdie on the second hole, but dropped shots on the par-four fourth and ninth to finish one over on the opening nine holes. On the back nine, James was erratic off the tee, securing birdies on the 11^th, 14^th and 15^th and bogeys on the short par-four 12^th and on the 16^th and 17^th for a level par score. James’ parents, Hugh and Alastair played steady golf, scoring 37 points each for a team total fo 113 points. Alastair, a recent university graduate and easily one of the longest golf-ball hitters on the continent, hit it long and wrong throughout the afternoon finishing with a miserable 28-points and claiming the infamous title of “weakest-link!” Defending his performance, Alastair said it was his dad’s fault! “I have been under pressure with my studies and my dad has been encouraging me to study more and play less,” Alastair said. “But I will come right at the Grand Finale and ensure that we win the grand prize!”

Speaking at the prize giving ceremony, Hugh, a consultant with the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, said his family’s dedication pushed them forward. “I’m absolutely grateful to my family. We stayed focused and in the end our team effort paid off,” he added: “That was a fantastic tournament here at Karen and we’re working towards coming back in the Grand Finale as the best. We really thank to Dasani for putting together this fantastic event and for giving us the opportunity to compete for the big prize, the trip to Atlanta.” Congratulating the winners, Coca-Cola’s Peter Njonjo wished them well in the Grand Finale. “It is great to see a family play together and win; I wish them all the best in the Grand Finale.”

The team of Peter Kanyago, John Muiruri, Kingori Kariuki and Steve Waruhiu finished second with 112 points, one-point shy of the winners. Kariuki anchored the team with a huge 41 points, Waruhiu added 38 points and Muiruri contritued 33 points for a team total of 112. Kanyago, the Kenya Open Golf Ltd Chairman was the team’s weakest link with 29 points. The team of George Muturi, Joe Muigai, Ken Kubasu and Peter Waweru finished third with 107 points; Waweru also claimed the overall individual prize with 43 points, a 2-under par gross score of 70, probably the golf round of his life! The team of Frederick Kariuki, Joe Kihanya, Stanley Nduati and Irungu Wanyoike finished fourth with 106 points. These four teams will now represent the Karen Country Club at the Dasani Golf Gala Grand Finale on the 27^th of August 2011 at the same venue.  The winning team at the Grand Finale will win a VIP trip to PGA TOUR Championship, presented by Coca-Cola, at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, the home of Coca-Cola.

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