Kelvin Kiplenge was named as the overall winner of the eleventh leg of the Safaricom Golf Tour which was held at Nakuru Golf Club yesterday.
Kelvin is a 17 year old junior golfer and is based in Nakuru. He recorded 18 points on the first nine and beat a field of 246 golfers to claim the overall title on 41 Stableford points.
“I am delighted to be the winner of the Safaricom Golf Tour here in Nakuru. The tournament was historical in my golfing career as this is the first time I have managed to score an eagle in my entire ten years of playing golf. As a junior, this means a lot and gives other young people in the sport and me a great hope for the bright future for our country in golf,” said Kiplenge
Kiplenge is the second junior golfer to win the Safaricom Golf Tour corporate tournament. This is after 15 year old Leo Gitonga won the second leg of the tour in Limuru. The victory earned Kiplenge a place in the series grand finale to be held in Vipingo early in August.
Claiming the winners’ men category was Keval Maisuria on 41 points ahead of Fredrick Mbuthia who scored 40 points. Felistah Njeri was the winner in the women’s category after she recorded a round of 39 points, while Eric Mugo was the staff winner with 35 points.
In the longest drive contest, Dr. Kimeli Mutai of Nandi Bear won the Men’s category with Nakuru’s Lady Captain, Lindah Munyao winning the Ladies category.
Meanwhile, the Nakuru tournament has attracted over 160 juniors taking part in the juniors’ tournament today, Sunday, 10th July, with over 70 aspiring juniors attending the golf clinics.
The Safaricom Golf Tour now moves to Nairobi, with Kenya Airforce Golf Club slated for 16th July for its twelfth leg before Vet Lab and Royal Golf Club in the subsequent weekends. The tour has drawn over 5,000 golfers who have participated in the tournaments, junior clinics and outreach programmes.
As part of growing Golf among the juniors in the country, Safaricom has partnered with Junior Golf Foundation to tap and nurture young talent in the golf sport. The juniors can register with Junior Golf Foundation (JGF) for KES.1,000 and have access to any golf club in the country to play Golf.