FAILED MISSION: Team Kenya flop yet again at Kenya Open golf tournament

KENYA OPEN GOLF TOURNAMENT 2016 Kenya's Dismas Indiza and Tere Blanche Hotel Spa Golf Resort in France Clement Berardo walk along the fairway from the 2nd hole during the annual Kenya Open at Karen Country Club on Saturday, March 19, 2016. PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD

Kenyan golfers once again failed to make use of homeground advantage at this year’s 48th edition of Kenya Open Golf Championship.

Many had expected the local home team to perform better in the opener of the European Tour Challenge owing to the few tournaments they have taken part in this year.

But this was not to be, as the country’s only hope, Dismas Indiza, performed way below expectations as the tournament ended on Sunday evening at the par 72 Karen Country Club in Nairobi.

The Mumias-based golfer finished 38th with a three under par 285. Last year, he did a five under par 283 to finish 28th.

Indiza blamed the dip on lack of sponsors for local golfers. Nonetheless, he appreciated companies that have shown interest like Mumias Sugar.

“Local golfers lack international exposure. We went to the tournament without playing in any big championship like the annual South Africa’s Sunshine Tour. This is why we are appealing to sponsors to come to our aid so that we can post good results in future tournaments,” said Indiza.

So far, the best Indiza has had in the championship is a 10th place finish, a feat he achieved in 2008.

Thika-based Simon Ngige struggled to make the cut, but posted a better result than he did last year.

Ngige, who was ranked 129th with a seven over par 151, finished 46th overall in the leaderboard this year with two under par 286.

Vet Lab golfer Brian Njoroge was the other local player who made the cut this season and finished with a level par 288 in position 56.

Despite the unimpressive performance by the Kenyans, a few issues stood out in this year’s event.

First, dominance by South African and English players in the championship is losing ground. Swede’s Sebastian Soderberg overcame opposition from the Rainbow nation, whose players won back-to-back titles. Soderberg won with an 18 under par 270.

Another positive story from the tournament is Joel Stalter. The 23-year-old Frenchman broke the course record with a stroke after he fired an eight under par 64 on the third round on Saturday.

In this year’s tournament, fans were wowed with a hole-in-one slot by Englishman Tom Murray in the third hole. Had Murray repeated that shot on hole seven, he would have happily landed the Sh5.2m Chevrolet Trailblazer on offer. This is a clear indication that soon, a hole-in-one win will be possible in the championship’s history that commenced in 1967.

Fourth, there was an increase in prize money as compared to last edition. All the 74 golfers, who made the cut on day two, were entitled to have a piece of the Sh25milion prize money with overall winner going home with Sh3.7million.

The championship’s sponsorship also exceeded expectations. Barclays were title sponsors with Sh30m, Coca Cola (Sh15m), SuperSport/Dstv, G4S, Kenya Tourism Board, Hemingways, Kenya Breweries, Chevrolet and Safaricom.

Kenya also included international amateurs in the European Tour Challenge.