The team of Erick Mutai, Julius Rono, Patrick Cheruiyot, and Patrick Langat from Kericho Golf Club are the champions of the ‘Road to Gleneagles’ 2022 Johnnie Walker Golf Series.
The quartet posted a remarkable 111 joint points to floor a strong field of 100 top amateur golfers from across the country who participated in the Series’ Grand Finale that was held yesterday at the par-72 Karen Country Club.
For their efforts, the team clinched the tournament’s overall prize – an all-expenses-paid trip to visit and play at the iconic Gleneagles Golf Course in Scotland.
The team fended off the challenge from Nakuru Golf Club’s team of Kuljit Sahota, Wahu Nyairo, Sajil Shah and Rahul Mesuria who came in second after scoring 110 points.
Coming in third was Nyanza Club’s team of Griffins Owino, Julius Omollo, David Omollo and Elizabeth who returned a score of 108 points, beating VetLab Sports Club’s team of Priscilla Karobia, Esther Chumo, Cleopas Bor and Mark Karobia on count back who had scored similar points.
On to individual categories, Shadrack Ng’etich and Rose Mambo were the stars in the Longest Drive challenge in the men and ladies categories respectively, while Anthony Mulinge clinched the Nearest to the Pin prize.
Meanwhile, Racheal Ndei posted 41 points to win the Guest Prize, beating second-placed Louisa Gitau who scored 38 points.
Speaking during the tournament, KBL Managing Director John Musunga noted that the company had achieved its objectives.
“Today’s event marks an incredibly proud moment for all of us at KBL as it is a culmination of a journey that we started in November last year when we commenced this Series. That series has been one of the most exciting and challenging tournaments. We saw some incredible golfers participating, and there were some very tough competitors out there and tough courses which made this a very special tournament,” said Musunga.
We are very delighted to have conducted this series which has cemented our place in the Kenyan golf space. We have managed to achieve the objective that we set out to achieve with this series, which was first of all to offer golfers across the country a platform to play and sharpen their skills as part of our commitment to supporting the growth and development of golf in the country. We also sought to provide an opportunity for lucky golfers to visit and play a round of golf at the iconic Gleneagles Golf Course in Scotland, which I am certain is a dream destination for any avid golfer,” he added.
The Grand Finale featured twenty-five teams of four who qualified to play from the Eagle’s Round (Semi-Final) held at Muthaiga Golf Club who battled it out for the ultimate honor of being crowned the overall Series champion.
The Series which kicked off in November 2021 has seen over 3,000 golfers participating across 18 golf clubs in the country. The qualifying events were held at; VetLab Sports Club, Thika Greens Golf Resort, Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club, Nakuru Golf Club, Kenya Railways Golf Club, Sigona Golf Club, Eldoret Club, Kericho Golf Club, Muthaiga Golf Club, Thika Sports Club, Nyali Golf & Country Club, Limuru Country Club, Karen Country Club, Nanyuki Sports Club, Kiambu Golf Club, Kakamega Golf Club, Royal Nairobi Golf Club, and Nyanza Club