Okello leads locals in final Pro-Am at Muthaiga
Amateur golfer Dennis Chebitwey follows the progress of his tee shot from the 10th tee during the Barclay Kenya Open Pro-Am on March 20, 2018 at the Muthaiga Golf Club. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |
What you need to know:
- Top players converge on Nairobi for European Challenge Tour, with Sh62.5 million on offer for the top finisher.
The final build-up to this year’s Barclays Kenya Open for both visiting and local professionals is on at Muthaiga Golf Club Wednesday morning.
The par-71 course hosts the second Pro-Am event which is a curtain-raiser tournament for the European Challenge Tour event.
A field of 176 pros and local amateurs will be up as early as 7.50am, weather permitting, to battle it out for what will be the final preparation for the pros going into Thursday’s first round of the main event where at stake is Sh62.5 million (500,000 Euros).
The pros drawn to play on Wednesday include 14 local pros, led by their captain John Wangai and Jacob Okello, the man whose record in the open, the local pros are yet to match. Okello, who finished second in the 1998 edition of the championship, having been beaten by Argentina’s Ricaldo Gonzalez in the first hole of a sudden-death play-off, has come closer to achieving that feat twice.
Few years ago at Karen, Okello tied for fifth place with South Africa’s James Kamte in one of the toughest editions of the competition.
Before that, he had finished in seventh place also at Karen, a course which apparently appeared to have favoured the locals more.
Kenya’s professional golfers Dismas Indiza, Tony Omuli and Njuguna Ngugi walk out of the chipping area on March 20, 2018 after their practice round at Muthaiga Golf Club. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |
Also in the line-up for on Wednesday’s event which offers the pros a chance to make some little cash as they embark on the big event is Dismas Indiza - who has not been very successful despite having always started well before he fades away in the closing rounds.
It is also a great opportunity for the local amateurs to play with both the visiting and the locals.
Among the internationals drawn to play include Sebastian Soderberg from Sweden, former Open champion Gary Boyd, Finland’s Rooper Kakko and one of the open’s top contenders Sebastian Heisele from Germany.
There is also South Africa’s Jacob Ahlers who is here to try and follow the footsteps of his compatriots Trevor Immelman, Jake Roos and other South Africans who have claimed the Open title before.
Of the local amateurs who will be in action, include Nation Media Group chairman Wilfred Kiboro who is in the team of tournament director Patrick Obath and pros Erick Ooko and Sweden’s Joel Sjoholm.
