By Maarufu Mohammed

Sullivan Muthugia of Thika Sports Golf Club will be among Kenya’s top amateurs expected to hunt for this year’s Barry Cup Trophy in the 90th edition of the annual Coast Open Tournament at the Mombasa Seafront Links course tomorrow.

The club’s captain, Peter Maina, yesterday disclosed that the championship, also known as Barry Cup, a premier golfing event in Mombasa which is held under the auspices of the Kenya Golf Union (KGU) in a series of the Golfer of the Year Calendar. "It attracts amateur golfers from all over East African as well as qualified visitors from overseas," said Maina. The captain said the championship is a 36 holes stroke play off scratch and runs alongside the Inter-Club Challenge Cup. The players are expected to be of handicap 12 and below.

"Work on the unique prestige course is at an advanced stage and participants from different clubs in the region have registered in the two-day event, which expected to be the biggest ever in the history of the tournament," said Maina.

Forthcoming centenary

The championship, which has attracted 85 golfers including six from Tanzania, is sponsored by Crown Berger Kenya Limited among others. Maina said the championship will be part of the run-up of events leading to the forthcoming centenary celebrations for the club established in 1911.

The event’s titleholder Muthaiga, who is also the current Golfer of the Year event leader, will be joined by winner of the Trans Open, Boniface Simba, from Vet Lab, newly crowned Muthaiga Open Strokesplay champion, Nelson Mudanyi of Muthaiga, and club mate Collins Omondi.

The six Tanzanian golfers will be led by their national team player, Iddi Mzaki, currently playing off handicap six. Others are Athman Chiundu, Michael Makalla, Hamisi Ali, Kessuy Mwanapala and Adil Yakubu. Coast boasts of several good golfers on lower handicaps, but the only winners of the event from the region since its inception in 1913 are Robert Davidson (1967) and Musa Odada (2004).

According to club records, the first Barry Cup championship took place over the Christmas weekend in 1913. Percy Barry, who donated the cup to the club, won it. Since then, the championship has been played at the club course, except from 1940-45 during the Second World War.

The cup was originally intended to be kept by winners who won it three times in a row. But after, golfer AJ Borland won three times in 1932, 1933 and 1934, some club committee members changed this and suggested that the trophy be held in perpetuity as a challenge scratch trophy to commemorate Barry’s outstanding services to the club.

Barry was the founder member and first honoree treasurer of Mombasa Golf Club. Since then, the cup has been played under KGU from 1928, and won by many local famous golfers.