NCBA Group Managing Director John Gachora during the official launch of the 2022 NCBA Golf Series at Railways Golf Club in February.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Nine-hole Nyanza Golf Club will this Saturday, 12th March 2022 play host to the second leg of the 2022 NCBA Golf Series. This follows the first leg of the Series that was held on 26th February at the Railways Golf Club.

Over 100 golfers are expected to tee off at the nine-hole lakeside golf club starting 0700hrs.

Speaking ahead of the tournament, John Gachora, Group Managing Director, NCBA Group said: “We are delighted to be taking the second leg of the 2022 NCBA Golf Series to Nyanza Golf Club. Having missed the opportunity to host the tournament there in 2021, we made a deliberate decision to include it early in this year’s calendar so that we can give golfers in the region a chance to also participate in this great Series,” he said.

“We have been expanding our retail footprint across the country and the East African region with an aim of bring our services closer to our customers. Last year, we opened several branches in the larger Western region including Kakamega, Kisii, and Kericho which has helped us reach even more people in this region. As we head to Nyanza, we look forward to connecting with our customers through a sport that matters to them most,” he added.

Fifteen amateur events and three junior tournaments have been lined up in the Series calendar, set to be held across different golf clubs in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. 

This will culminate in the tournament’s grand finale to be held at the Muthaiga Golf Club where a fully-paid trip to South Africa’s Fancourt Country club for the best four players will be up for grabs.

Four winners from each of the participating clubs will get automatic qualifications to play at the tournament’s Grand Finale. The criterion will see the competition’s Division One (handicap 0-9) winner, Division Two (handicap 10 – 19) winner, Ladies’ Category winner, and the Junior Category winner get an automatic qualification.

The tournament is part of the company’s commitment to supporting the growth of golf in the country, by providing a platform for amateur and junior golfers to play and better their skills.

Safaricom Head Of Enterprise business unit Joseph Wanjohi (right) hands over a Cheque of KES 7 million for a one year partnership with Muthaiga Golf Club. Receiving the cheque is Muthaiga Golf Club Chairman Ronald K. Meru.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

The third leg of the Safaricom Golf Tour will take place at the Muthaiga Golf Club this weekend. The tournament has attracted over 200 amateur and professional golfers who will be taking part in the 18-hole, corporate tournament on Saturday with over 100 junior golfers set to grace the course on Sunday.

The Junior Golf tournament will also double up as a US Kids Golf local tour event, which kicked off with the Limuru leg of the Safaricom Golf Tour two weeks ago.

“We have seen some exciting action over the first two legs of the inaugural Safaricom Golf Tour especially with the junior tournaments. We also continue to hold clinics for young aspiring golfers as we look to demystify the sport and position it as one that is accessible. We already saw the impressive performance at last weekend’s Kenya Open from teenage golfer Njoroge Kibugu who started playing at age 6 which shows that our focus on growing junior golf is certain to bear fruit,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom.   

The Muthaiga leg of the tour comes just a week after the club played host to the 2022 Magical Kenya Open which was won by Chinese pro golfer Ashun Wu. The club has also signed a one-year deal with Safaricom for branding rights in some sections of the club for the next one year.

“We are pleased to host Safaricom here at the Home of Golf and we are proud to see how the company is committed to nurturing and growing talent in this sport. I believe with such commitment to our juniors, we are destined to becoming a better golfing nation,” said Ronald Meru, Chairman, Muthaiga Golf Club.

Safaricom has invested KES 100 million in the golf tour, which aims at nurturing and growing talent in the country. The tour will be played in 14 golf clubs across the country.

Last year, Safaricom also announced a three-year partnership with the Junior Golf Foundation (JGF) to help nurture and grow golf in Kenya. The partnership also saw the introduction of a US Kids Golf Local Tour Competition which will give qualifying golfers opportunities to play in regional, international and world championship competitions organized by the US Kids Golf Foundation.

The telco has also recently sponsored the Magical Kenya Ladies Open and Magical Kenya Open.