Team for Africa Golf Championship named
What you need to know:
- Entries are only open to any amateur with an official handicap and are members of a Golf Club affiliated to a Union recognised by the African Golf Confederation.
- The competition is played over 72 holes Stroke play format.
- The KGU chairman Murage will lead the team to Mauritius.
The Kenya Golf Union (KGU) on Thursday released the names of the national men’s team for this year’s Africa Golf Team Championship to be held at the Mont Choisy Le Golf in Mauritius from October 8 to 13.
The team is made up of two top juniors in the country- Mutahi Kibugu of Muthaiga Golf Club, an off scratch player and Zubair Khan, playing off two also from Muthaiga.
The two will be teaming up with Kenya’s two leading amateurs, Samuel Njoroge (+2) from Kenya Railway Golf Club and Simon Njogu, playing off plus one handicap from the Great Rift Valley Golf Resort in Naivasha.
All the four players have represented Kenya in international events before including the recent Victoria Cup held at the Uganda Golf Club and the Africa Region Four championship in Bujumbura, Burundi.
Speaking on the selection of the team, which was based in the Order of Merit in the Kenya Amateur Golf Championship (KAGC) series and in the Junior Golf Foundation (JGF) Order of Merit, the Kenya Golf Union (KGU) chairman Anthony Murage said he was confident that the team will play well in Mauritius.
"It is important to note that this is the same team that participated in Region IV Golf tournament which was held in Burundi this year and their performance was incredible," Murage said on Thursday.
This is the first time Mauritius is hosting the biennial championship, which has been hosted before by South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.
The last event was held at the Elephant Hills Golf Resort in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe where over 15 countries participated.
So far, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Botswana, Morocco, Swaziland, Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, Reunion, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the hosts have confirmed their participation.
The Africa Amateur Team Golf Championship (AAGTC) was inaugurated in 2001 in South Africa.
From that first tournament, the AAGTC has grown to become the major amateur golf championship in Africa.
The AAGTC is well supported and partially sponsored by the Royal and Ancient and with the support from the African nations, AAGTC has grown exponentially over the last decade.
The event remains one of the most prestigious tournaments in Africa.
The Championship is played in the Eisenhower Format where each team consists of four players, but only the best three scores per round will count toward the team aggregate.
The country with the lowest gross score at the end of the championship will be crowned the AAGTC champion and there is also a prize for the overall individual winner.
Entries are only open to any amateur with an official handicap and are members of a Golf Club affiliated to a Union recognised by the African Golf Confederation.
The competition is played over 72 holes Stroke play format. Murage will lead the team to Mauritius.
