Great Rift to host sixth Safari Tour leg
What you need to know:
- By Thursday afternoon, atleast 38 professionals drawn from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and as far away as Nigeria and Senegal had listed their names to play
- Leading the pro field however will be Mumias-based Dismas Indiza, a winner of the fifth leg, the Pam Golding Safari Open at Lake Victoria Serena in Uganda
- Of the visiting pros, Nigeria’s Andrew Odoh and Uganda’s Philip Kasozi who are also chasing automatic slots in the 2020 open, are experienced players
Action in the Kenya Open Golf Limited organized Safari Tour pro golf series now shifts to the Great Rift Valley Golf Resort course in Naivasha this weekend, for the sixth leg in the 11-event golf series.
By Thursday afternoon, atleast 38 professionals drawn from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and as far away as Nigeria and Senegal had listed their names to play in the Magical Kenya and Absa sponsored tournament. More players were however expected to register before the first round draw is done on Saturday.
The professionals will be joined by some of the country’s leading amateurs Daniel Nduva, Daniel Kiragu, Mutahi Kibugu, home player Simon Njogu and lady golfer Naomi Wafula. Leading the pro field however will be Mumias-based Dismas Indiza, a winner of the fifth leg, the Pam Golding Safari Open at Lake Victoria Serena in Uganda.
Indiza who also leads the series with a total of 240.6 points, will be challenged by among others, home pro Justus Madoya who won the fourth leg, the Entebbe Open with an impressive score of eight under par. Being at home and very familiar with the Great Rift resort course, Madoya is likely to attract a big following.
Also seeking more points and some slots in next year’s Magical Kenya Open, will be Muthaiga’s Greg Snow, Erick Ooko of Royal, Windsor’s Riz Charania, Simon Ngige of Thika, John Wangai of Sigona and Golf Park’s David Wakhu. And Tony Omuli who won the Royal leg by beating home player Erick Ooko in a three-hole play-off.
Of the visiting pros, Nigeria’s Andrew Odoh and Uganda’s Philip Kasozi who are also chasing automatic slots in the 2020 open, are experienced players and capable of posting victories though the Kenyans have proved tough to beat so far save for the Uganda Open where Zambia’s Madalitso Muthiya denied Indiza his seventh Uganda Open title.
The first round in this weekend’s event is set for Sunday followed by the second round on Monday where there top 20 and ties will proceed to the last two rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday with the overall winner taking home Sh150,000.
To kick off the weekend’s activities, will be a pro-Am event on Saturday where some of the pros will have a chance of testing the magnificent course.
Meanwhile at the local golf scene, Kenya Railway Golf Club, Muthaiga and Limuru will hosts the Captain’s Prize, both events having attracted huge fields while at Royal, it will be the turn for the Chairman’s Prize being sponsored by a big lists of corporate organizations led by Amazon Consultants.
Away in Machakos, Kenya Red Cross Society Machakos County Branch in partnership with Machakos Golf Club will be staging a fundraising tournament where funds raised will be channelled towards a number of disasters facing Machakos. Though the weekend’s tournament has attracted a small field, the club will be more than willing to accommodate more golfers.
