KGU
Team Kenya falls short in regional contests
Team Kenya
Kenya’s quest to be the
undisputed amateur golf
powerhouse in East and
Central Africa is under
threat. Going by the results
of the just-concluded
competitions, the Kenya
National Golf Team must
dig deeper to stave off the
threat from perennial rivals
Uganda.
In a span of one month,
the national team was
humbled by Uganda in
the Region IV tournament
formerly known as East
Africa Challenge and the
Victoria Cup.
24
W
hereas the losses can be
described as narrow, this
should serve as a wakeup
call to the Team Kenya handlers. Not
so long ago, there was a glimmer
of hope when our boys dethroned
South Africa to win the Zone Six title.
That is the level that we should be
competing at!
A cursory glance at our Region IV
competitors- Uganda, Tanzania,
Rwanda, Burundi and Ethiopia- just
confirms one thing; we are way
ahead in terms of the development
of the sport. From facilities to
experience to technical know-how
Kenya is peerless in the region!
Anthony Murage, Chairman Kenya
Golf Union, KGU, is unperturbed
though: “In this particular
tournament, 50 percent of our
team were juniors and we knew and
accepted the fact that, we might dip
in performance but we needed to
give these guys exposure.”
True, credit must go to KGU for
putting faith in the youngsters.
Though Kenya may have lost the
bragging rights to Uganda in the
short term, our junior pipeline is
looking quite promising. For instance,
the decision to field a team featuring
juniors Zubair Khan and Mutahi
Kibugu in the Region IV event was
quite bold. The youngsters were
paired with the hugely experienced
Samuel Njoroge and Simon Njogu for
the three day event which is played
in Stroke Play, Foursomes and Singles
formats.