Junior Golf Foundation gets development cash from Prime Bank
Junior Golf Foundation President Larry Ngala (left) and his deputy Nancy Ikinu (2nd left) receive a dummy cheque of Sh1,022,000 from Prime Bank Golf Manager Jesse Mungai (right) and Head of Cards Ratna Abdallatif at Prime Bank along Chiromo Road, Nairobi on April 16, 2021.
What you need to know:
- JGF development manager Brian Njoroge disclosed that after six months upon the introduction of golf in these areas, they will be able to zero in on the children, who will have created that interest in the game.
Prime Bank has for the past five years remitted Sh5.5 million to Junior Golf Foundation (JGF) for the development of young players in Kenya.
The bank’s golf manager Jesse Mungai disclosed on Friday that the funds are drawn from proceeds raised from their joint visa card with JGF and Kenya Golf Union (KGU).
Mungai said that the visa card initiative was launched in 2015 with a view of developing junior golfers in the country through clinics and training of coaches to handle the junior among other activities.
Mungai was speaking before handing over Sh1.022m for the 2020 season to JGF President Larry Ngala at the bank’s headquarters in Nairobi.
The cards are given for free to golfers, who open accounts with us and the bank opts to pay a renewal fee of Sh2,000 annually with all the proceeds going to JGF.
“We want to thank JGF and KGU for giving us this opportunity to identify ourselves with future champions through the game of golf,” said Mungai, who was accompanied by Prime Bank head of cards Ratna Abdullatif and head of marketing Connie Kirika.
“This is our flagship project where we want to develop local golfers who will go on to win the Kenya Open Championship and many other major events across the world,” said Abdullatif.
“That time is coming and we want to be associated with the glory.”
Ngala noted that Prime Bank’s imitative has been of great help to JFG where they have been able to buy equipment for the juniors, organise events as well as train coaches who have handled clinics across the country.
Ngala, who was accompanied by his vice president Nancy Ikinu and secretary Mary Ang’awa explained that Kenya will gain that breakthrough in golf if they country gets to nurture golfers from outside golf clubs.
Ngala noted that if harnessed well, the programme, “junior golf for schools”, that was launched last year by KGU targeting schools outside Nairobi in Kakamega, Kisumu, Mombasa, Machakos, Kisii and Kericho, will be the solution to having numbers take the game.Most of those junior playing golf are children of club members and to succeed in breaking this we must venture into local public schools to search for golf talent,” said Ngala.
JGF development manager Brian Njoroge disclosed that after six months upon the introduction of golf in these areas, they will be able to zero in on the children, who will have created that interest in the game.
“We shall then introduce them to golf courses and championships with successful cases also getting to earn educational scholarships among other benefits. It will be an expensive venture but that is what we shall do so for the breakthrough we yearn for in the game,” said Njoroge.
