Top golfers to grace Kiambu Captain's Prize tourney

Dismas Indiza follows his tee shot during the Magical Kenya Open Tournament at Muthaiga Country Club in Nairobi on Thursday March 03, 2022. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]

A rich field of local pros, seeded amateurs and other golfers has been drawn up for the Pro-AM which gets underway at Kiambu Golf Club on Thursday.

At stake is a Sh500,000 prize money that shall be shared among the top 20 golfers.

The week-long tournament is in honour Captain CPA Mike Nyangi who has steered the club's golf section for the past year.

On Monday, over 120 caddies drawn from different clubs took to the course to battle it out for the Sh200,000 kitty up for grabs.

In total, 29 pros and 62 amateurs are fighting it out for a share of the money. The visiting pros have promised to take the battle to the home golfer, Michael Karanga's doorstep. Karanga has been on a record-breaking streak on the Kenya Amateur Golf Championship (KAGC) circuit in the 2023 calendar.

Having won 13 titles out of the 17 so far, Karanga is unperturbed by the threats and his sight is already set on breaking the Kiambu course record during the finals of the Karanga Scratch Golf Championship where he is pitted against another solid golfer Mike Ngene.

The tournament is among one of the new events started by Nyangi whose finals will be held on the same day as the Pro-Am.  

Among the pros to participate in the Pro-Am are Dismas Indiza of Mumias, Kenya Railway Golf Clubs' Samuel Njoroge, Vetlabs' Edwin Mudanyi and Alfred Nadwa for Royal Nairobi Golf Club.

Leading the amateurs are Mike Karanga, Elvis Muigua, John Lejirma, and Dennis Maara among others

Over 120 golfers have been drawn for the main event, the captain's prize on Saturday where a car prize is on offer for the person who aces the eighth hole. 

"The course is in excellent condition due to ongoing rains. We will have strategically positioned marshals to ensure we have a smooth flow on the course," Nyangi said. 

At the Coast, Mombasa Sports Club will host the sixth leg of the Nomadic Golf series on Saturday where several golfers have been drawn for the daylong meet ss they seek an opportunity to participate at the series grand finale slated for December 2 at the Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort.

This leg is presented by Ostatech, DroneVision, Sun n Sand Beach Resort, Licky Fish and Johnnie Walker.

The eventual winner at the grand finale will win a four-day, fully paid-for trip to South Africa courtesy of the organizers, Nomadic Golf Limited.