Naomi Wafula follows the flight of her shot during a past Kenya Ladies Golf Union Matchplay Championship at Royal Nairobi Golf Club. PHOTO | FILE |
Recent achievements in regional golf have raised hopes for the growth of the game, which is slowly coming of age.
Kenya won both the girls and boys continental titles on August 23 at the Nyali Golf and Country Club, after the Kenya senior women triumphed at a the tri-nation Gilbertson and Page Championships Trophy on August 6 in Zimbabwe.
Four months ago, the Uganda men’s team won its maiden senior Africa Zone Six Golf.
The Kenya junior girls and boys teams played well to win their respective categories at the All Africa Girls Trophy and the Tri-Nations Boys Trophy.
The junior girls led from the beginning by winning on 708 gross and beating Zambia by a whole 40 shots.
Kenya’s leading female golfer, Naomi Wafula, fired two over par 73, including a birdie at the second hole and at the 13th and a 15-footer for two at the par three-18th to give her team a 40-shot cushion.
Zimbabwe were third with 801 gross and were 74 shots better than Nigeria. Uganda was last with 903 gross.
Wafula also took the individual title with 16 over par 229 while her compatriot Kellie Gachaga tied for second-place with Zambia’s Celestine Nawa on 23 over par 236. Kellie, who missed several birdie chances, shot 84 for the day, her worst score in the tournament. Another Kenyan, Sarah Khanyereri, holed a 20-footer for two at the 18th for 79.
The junior boys battled in the fourth edition of the Tri-nation championships between Kenya, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. Defending champions Zimbabwe, holders of the trophy since its inception three years ago, suffered a huge defeat.
Kenya’s total score after four rounds was 59, a massive 21 shots ahead of Zimbabwe on 38, who played the same team from the past two editions.
At last year’s tournament in Namibia, Kenya performed poorly as Zimbabwe successfully defended their 2013 Tri-Nations title, which they won at home.
On the second day, the teams played two rounds of foursomes matchplay in the morning, with Kenya winning all their matches against Zimbabwe and Nigeria, which took their total to 29 points. Zimbabwe was left with a lot to do in the afternoon’s fourball betterball, as they were trailing on 22 points.
The singles strokeplay was the last round, with a maximum of four points to be won by each of the six team players. Kenya managed 20 points, Zimbabwe 16 and Nigeria nil.
“I am very happy that my putting improved after spending some time on the practising green,” said an excited Wafula, who thanked her teammates for their hard work. “We all put in our best and that is why we won.”
“It shows what we are capable of in the future,” said Ashwin Gidoomal, the Junior Golf Foundation chairman.
The Kenya women retained the triangular Gilberson and Page Trophy golf title with 38 points, beating Zambia by a narrow margin of a point as hosts Zimbabwe finished third with 33 points.
What caught the eye of many was the youth of the team, which had four junior players with an average age of 21. The team, captained by Christina Andersen, had Naomi Wafula, Joyce Wanjiru, Mercy Nyanchama, Agnes Nyakio, Kellie Gachaga and Rachel Chebukati.
Andersen said golf authorities in the region must prioritise junior golf development in order to build formidable teams in the future.
Uganda became the only other team to have beaten South Africa, after Kenya, for the Africa Zone Six Golf Championships, but the victory didn’t come on a silver platter.
Uganda national team coach Amos Kamia said his programme focused on 64 players, whom he took through two tournaments in Kampala and Entebbe before reducing them to 40 and then 22 players.
