‘KCB Road to Karen Masters’ series tees off in Ruiru

Kenya Commercial Bank has launched a new golf series that will give winners an opportunity to play at the second edition of KCB Karen Masters, a Sunshine Tour event.

The series dubbed “KCB Road to the Karen Masters’’ tees off on Saturday at the par 72 Ruiru Sports Club course where at least 280 golfers are expected to compete.

The Ruiru event will be the first of the five legs series to be held in different parts of the country.

“This is a great avenue for more golfers to play at our prestigious tournament. We are redefining the golfing experience as we engage with golfers across Kenya,” said KCB Marketing and Communications Director Angela Mwirigi.

“The series is imperative for the development of golf in Kenya, and the move will resonate at many levels with our agenda to grow sports in East Africa as one of the biggest sponsors across disciplines,” she added.

With a new qualification format, the series adds considerable lure to the Pro-Am tournament that sees local amateurs paired alongside top golfers drawn from across the globe.

The five events with increased tickets to play at this year’s KCB Pro-Am, a curtain-riser for the Sunshine Tour-sanctioned Karen Masters, will also be hosted at Limuru Golf Club (May 26) and Eldoret Golf Club (June 16,). The final two rounds will take place in Mombasa (June 30) and Muthaiga Golf Club on July 7.

Six winners from each of the participating clubs will get automatic qualification to play at the KCB Karen Masters Pro-am tournament on July 17.

The main event will take place from July 19 to 22.

The criterion will see the overall winner, men winner, lady winner, staff winner and guest winner get automatic qualification, while the wild card will see one person grab a ticket.

The wild card ticket will be given to any of the following categories; best first nine, best second nine, nearest to the pin men and lady, junior golfer, longest drive lady and men, at the discretion of clubs.

The new golf series will fuel an ideal climate for competitive golf and a fascinating start for the KCB Karen Masters.

Last year, English professional Tom Murray and amateur Fernando Wangila won the KCB Karen Masters Pro Am with a remarkable score of 10 under par 62.

At Ruiru, among those drawn include the club’s leading amateur Ben Omondi who last weekend clinched the Banda Homes tournament with an impressive score of 39 points.

Other single figure handicap golfers include Frank Munyuah, while a stiff competition