Top golfers battle for regional Challenge slots
Royal Nairobi Golf Club's Jay Sandhu tees off from tenth tee during a past competition. PHOTO | FILE |
What you need to know:
- The three will join five others qualified on the basis of the 2014/2015 Golfer of The Year (GOTY) series and one wild card to be picked by the union.
Kenya’s top amateur golfers will be parading at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club course on Monday to battle it out for places in Kenya’s national men's team for the forthcoming East Africa Challenge later this month.
By Wednesday this week, the Kenya Golf Union (KGU) had received a list of 23 golfers from various clubs who will vie for three slots in the nine-man team which is expected to start training soon after.
The 23 will first fight it out in a 36-hole duel where they top eight will then proceed to a round robin MatchPlay format which will eventually decide the top three players based on points.
The three will join five others qualified on the basis of the 2014/2015 Golfer of The Year (Goty) series and one wild card to be picked by the union.
This is a new criteria for selecting the team which according to KGU chairman Anthony Muhoro, will bring on board players currently on form. “We want to try and give players who are currently playing well in the Goty series and other events a chance to play for the country," said Muhoro when he announced the new selection criteria for picking up some of the players for the national team.
STARS CLASH
According to Monday’s draw, some of the players who will be vying for the slots include Royal Nairobi’s Jay Sandhu and Kenneth Bollo, Vet Lab’s David Ongeri and Edwin Mudanyi, Limuru’s Paul Muchangi, home player John Gitonga and Mike Kisia (Eldoret).
Going by the accumulative Goty points for the 2014/2015 series, the top five players who have earned automatic slots in the team are William Odera (Kericho), John Karichu of Limuru, Alfred Nandwa (Railway), Justus Madoya (Great Rift Valley) and Vet Lab’s Robinson Owiti. The national team is required to have eight players and a playing reserve. This year’s East Africa Challenge will take place from August 25 at the Kigali Golf Club.
