James Warui crowned 'King of the Course' in Nanyuki
Dr Cesar Mwangi, Group CEO ICEA LION, (left) presenting the trophy to Nanyuki Sports Club chairman Kuldip Hunjan, who received it on behalf of overall winner James Warui, who was not present during the prize giving ceremony at the Nanyuki Sports Club on January 23, 2021.
What you need to know:
- Mathai, who also finished second in last year’s tournament, had also started with 21 points at the front nine, though he only managed 18 at the back nine.
- Finishing in third place with 38 points was Richard Kabugi, while taking the ladies title also with 38 points was Sophie Githuku. Nanyuki Sports Club lady captain Dr Samantha Mathu was second on 36 points.
Home player James Warui displayed excellent form during the weekend’s fourth leg of the 2021 ICEA LION 'King of the Course' golf series beating a record field of 162 players to claim the overall title at the Nanyuki Sports Club.
Playing off handicap 15, Warui got off well, firing 21 points in the opening nine, while despite dropping a number of shots at the back nine, 19 points was still good enough as it gave him an impressive total of 40 points to beat veteran John Mathai by one point.
Mathai, who also finished second in last year’s tournament, had also started with 21 points at the front nine, though he only managed 18 at the back nine.
Finishing in third place with 38 points was Richard Kabugi, while taking the ladies title also with 38 points was Sophie Githuku. Nanyuki Sports Club lady captain Dr Samantha Mathu was second on 36 points.
Cyprian Bundi, one of the leading golfers at the club, and currently playing off handicap two, carded four over par 76 to claim the gross title, with Peter Mbugua emerging the best guest in the event, which also attracted players from clubs like Machakos, Royal Nairobi Golf Club and Golf Park among others clubs.
Finishing second in that category was Ken Ngumbau of Machakos , ho carded 36 points, while the nines went to Jessy Mugo and Marlin Ndegwa with 21 points each.
In the subsidiary event, Machakos Golf Club’s Jackson Mbaluka won the men’s longest drive, while Rosemary Kioni was the longest drive lady winner.
But what a day it was for Nyeri Golf Club’s Mwangu Gathu. Finishing almost in darkness, Mwangi fired a solid seven-iron shot at the par three-18th into the hole for his first ever hole-in-one, which also gave him the nearest to pin prize plus 52 golf balls.
Lady golfers
At Thika Sports Club, the 2020 Chairman’s Prize (Chris Kinuthia), which was sponsored by a host of corporates, was a record breaking event as a huge field of 309 golfers participated in the tournament.
John Maina, playing off handicap 22, carded a fine score of 40 points to take the overall title and S.K. Ndungi on 38 points beat Patrick Mukuria on countback for the men’s title.
Leading the growing number of lady golfers at Thika Sports Club was Esther Mwangi, who also carded 38 points, to beat former Junior Golf Foundation vice president Betty Mutua on countback.
It was a great day for C.Muguku who posted an excellent 44 points to emerge as the best guest, with Rajan Shah and Ben Mahui taking the nines on 22 and 20 points respectively.
Karen Country Club’s Irene Auma, a JGF trustee, won the ladies longest drive title, while the men’s winner was Edwin Kiarie. The nearest to pin winners were A. Maleche and Petty Kigwe.
Sigona Bowl
At Sigona Golf Club, Kiambu’s Michael Karanga recovered from a poor first round score to eventually claim the overall title in the 62nd edition of the annual Sigona Bowl golf tournament.
Karanga started with seven over par 79, leaving him five shots behind round one leader Jay Sandhu of Royal. However, Karanga shot one under par in the second round and finished with two over par 74 for a total of 224 to beat former Kenya Amateur Match play champion Paul Muchangi of Limuru by two shots.
Muchangi posted 76, 73 and 77 for a total of 226. Nyali Golf and Country Club’s Adel Balala, who also carded 77 in the final round, was third on 228, just a shot better than round one leader Jay Sandhu. This year the tournament attracted a field of 96 players playing off handicap six and below.
The following are summarised results of the weekend golf events;
At Nyali: 2020 Captain’s Prize (Aemeen Dhanji) golf tournament; sponsored by Seven Stars, Badar Pharmacy, Habari Insurance Brokers, Gold Crown Beverages and friends of the captain; Winner- Saturday; Vimal Ranpura 41 pts, Men winner- Salim Bwika 38 pts, Lady winner- Provia Odhiambo 34, Mary Kinaro 31 pts.
Sunday: Captain’s Overall Winner- Saj Shah 48 points, Men winner Joseph Kaguru 37, S.M. Kamau 36, Guest best Eclectic score: Qays Mughal 39, Senior winner- Heinz Breitner 37, Junior winner- A.J.Molu 41,
At Vet Lab: Sugina Cup Finals sponsored by Prof Mbatia and Friends; Timothy Opar beat Sanjay Thakkar 6-4; Subsidiary winner-Qualifying Round- Ochieng Abekah 68 nett, Final round winner Reddy Kandadi 43 pts, Bhupesh Lakhani 41, Elijah Mbole 39 pts.
