Coach John Liefland demands more from Kenyan golfers

Despite the slight improvement that saw Kenya’s golf team make the A division and eventually finish fourth, team coach John Liefland still believes that the players could have done better in the just concluded Africa Region Five Championship in Kitwe, Zambia.

In an exclusive interview after the last day of the 2017 Africa Region Five Championship at the par 72 Nkana Golf Club in Kitwe, Liefland said Uganda was a tougher opponent than Zambia and having beaten the East Africans in the quarter-finals, he expected nothing short of a victory against the hosts.

“We played well in the strokeplay qualification and our match Uganda was good, but our semi-finals against Zambia, we just gave it away. I put John (Karichu) and Edwin (Mudanyi) together for the foursome which I expected to work but it did not, well it was a gamble which did not go well,” said coach Liefland.

Liefland said the other two players (Alfred Nandwa and Samuel Njoroge) though they managed to put their best, but it was not good enough.

“I expected Nandwa, a fine player and a fighter, to rise to the occasion but he did not deliver and he agreed though that is subject for further discussion. I exchanged the pairing and was impressed by Mudanyi who however gave up the match but it was positive.”

Liefland said he will have to discuss his future plans with the KGU executive.

“This time round we only practiced together as a team for one week because of the Kenya Open, but I would like to have the team well over a month to prepare for the Victoria Cup in Uganda and the other international events such as the East Africa Challenge in Tanzania,” he added.

He however said Kenyan teams are taken care of by the Union and they ought to give account of themselves.

“I need time to restructure the team because for sure we have great talent, very talented players capable of playing in the Challenge Tour or any professional tour so long as they show some seriousness when the time calls them to be, and be positive as representing a country is a serious business.”

Kenyan team captain Alfred Nandwa partly agrees with his coach who he says has impacted some changes in the way the players now look at every aspect of the game.

“Sometimes we found the coach a bit harsh on us but I suppose that is his role. I believe he has the team at heart and he wants us to perform well,” said Nandwa.

“He was all over the course and it was easy for him to notice or discover each and every player’s mistake and for that we appreciate because we also want to play better.”

It was the first time, Kenya, qualified for the top(A) division having finished fourth out of 13 teams in the 18-hole strokeplay qualifying round which saw them join the eight top teams for the matchplay format.

During last year’s tournament in Swaziland, Kenya failed to qualify for the A division and even in the B division, they still could not perform well. So far, Kenya and Uganda are the only countries to have beaten South Africa in the Region Five formerly Zone Six.

Kenya won the 2010 edition in Botswana, while Uganda beat the South Africans in Kampala in 2015, the last time the event took place in the old format of singles, foursomes, four ball better ball and singles and the last Africa Zone Six Championship.