Home player Nelson Nyoike beat a field of 253 golfers to win the 13th leg of the Safaricom Golf Tour held at the par 72 Vet Lab Golf Club.
Playing off handicap 21, the sixty-two-year-old golfer capitalized on the home advantage and his excellent form to post 22 points in the front nine before doubling the scores in the back nine to post a total of 44 points courtesy of twelve pars, four double bogeys and two bogeys enabling him to claim the overall title ahead of Watson Burugu with 40 points.
” I played easy to win the tournament courtesy of several pars. The course was in perfect condition, and I had good company with my four-ball team players, who also played a bigger role in today’s victory. It is my first win of the series, and I feel great about it as it has given me a rare opportunity to represent my home club in the finals. I know it will be tough competing against the best golfers from other golf clubs across the country, but I will try my best and make sure I bring the victory home,” said Nyoike.
Nyoike becomes the second eldest golfer to win the Safaricom Golf Tour after the seventy-year-old Don Riaro of Karen Golf Club. He joins other winners from the past twelve tournaments to battle it out in the grand finale to be held in two weeks at Vipingo Ridge in Kilifi County.
The corporate tournament also ran alongside the Golf Outreach dubbed ‘Golf Mtaani’ held at Kabete VetLab Primary School, with 80 young people getting an opportunity to learn basic skills about golf from Safaricom’s golf professional trainers.
The Vetlab tournament has attracted 175 juniors taking part in the juniors’ tournament today, Sunday, 17th July, with 40 aspiring juniors attending the golf clinics at the same facility.
The 14th leg, which also marks the last tournament of the series ahead of the grand finale in Vipingo, is scheduled for 30th July at Nairobi Royal Golf Club.
The tour has attracted over 7,000 golfers participating in the various tournaments, junior clinics and outreach programmes.
As part of growing the sport among junior players in the country, Safaricom has partnered with the Junior Golf Foundation to tap and nurture young talent. The juniors can register with the Junior Golf Foundation (JGF) for KES.1,000, which grants them access to play at any golf club in the country.
