The seventh leg of the Road to Gleneagles Johnnie Walker golf series teed off at the Eldoret Sports Club on Saturday with over 130 golfers battling for glory.
The golfers were drawn from Eldoret, Kitale, Nandi Bears and Kakamega golf clubs. Among them were Elgeyo Marakwet County Governor Eng. Alex Tolgos, Kenyan High Commissioner to India Willy Bett, and former long-distance runner Moses Tanui who teed-off early in the morning.
Claiming the first position was the quartet comprising Dr Felix Tarus, Dr Peter Maritim, Dr Paul Mwangi and George Njoroge who jointly scored a remarkable 114 stableford points, one more than their nearest competitors comprising of Tom Mutei, James Waweru, Charles Nganga and John Kibosia who carded 113 stableford points to claim the first runner-up position. Coming in third was the team of Nathan Kitiwa, Evance Manono, Irene Brooker and Joseph Akhonya who carded combined 111 stableford points.
In other results, it was a good day for Dr Peter Maritim as he was back to the podium to receive the award for the Men’s Category Winner having carded 46 points. His closest challenger was Franklin Kipyator who posted 41 points to claim the runner-up position.
In the Ladies’ Category, Mani Sagoo’s 39 points were enough for her to claim the top spot, one better than Irene Brooker who carded 38 points to earn her the runner-up spot.
In the Nines, Moses Muge carded 24 points to win the first nine on the day while Amos Butit scored similar points to win the second nine.
In the longest drive challenge, Dr Peter Maritim was the champion in the Men’s Category, caping off a very successful day on the course. Jebii Lydia was the star in the Ladies’ category, while Ajay Shah picked up the plaudits for the nearest to pin categorization, wrapping up the accolades for the day.
Speaking during the event, Elgeyo Marakwet County Governor Alex Tolgos expressed his delight to KBL for offering golfers in the North Rift region a chance to compete in the tournament.
“I am happy to have interacted with many golfers today through this competition, and I really thank Johnnie Walker for bringing this event to the North Rift region. Golf requires a lot of practice and this tournament served us with that opportunity to practise and hone our skills. The course was nice, though my patting was not that good, and that’s probably where I lost most strokes. There’s however a next time and I believe with more practice, I will become better,” said Tolgos.
KBL’s Trade Management Representative in the Rift Valley said:
“We are happy to have hosted this event here in Eldoret. The event lived up to its billing as we had great numbers taking to the course, offering us an amazing day of golf. We are delighted as KBL to offer golfers across the country a chance to play and hone their skills, and an opportunity for the lucky ones to travel to and play at iconic Gleneagles, Scotland. It is a dream destination for all golfers and we are happy to be presenting this opportunity to them,” said Muchini.
On his part, Eldoret Sports Club captain Nathan Torerei said: We had a good field today of over 130 players who took to the course including Elegeyo Marakwet Governor Eng. Alex Tolgos and Kenyan High Commissioner to India Amb. Willy Bett. The weather was also very good and we had no hiccups throughout the day. I can therefore say that the event was hugely successful and for that, we thank EABL for this opportunity.”
Following the Eldoret event, focus now shifts to Kericho Golf Club for the eighth leg of the series set to be played on 19th February.
The top three winning teams join the list of players that will proceed to the next round of the series; dubbed the Eagles Round to be played in Muthaiga, and finally, the Series’ Grand Finale to be played in May 2022