Kanana Muthomi and Peter Waiharu emerged as the overall winners of the twelfth leg of the Safaricom Golf Tour junior tournament held at the Kenya Airforce Golf Club on Sunday.
Twelve-year-old Muthomi carded 41 points to claim the best Girl title for the second time after also taking the top prize in the category during the fifth leg of the tour in Machakos. Peter Waihura won the boy’s title after falling short last weekend in Nakuru.
“I feel proud to emerge the winner of the juniors’ tournament. This is my second time participating in the tournament after the first one in Nakuru last week. I failed to clinch the top position in Nakuru, but I am now glad that my hard work and training has earned me a sweet victory. I thank Safaricom for such an excellent programme, giving young people like me an opportunity to showcase our talents. I also thank my brother, who introduced me to golf four years ago”, Said Waiharu.
Sunday’s tournament witnessed 85 juniors participate in the event, with 60 juniors showing up for the golf clinic, which was part of the day’s activities.
Earlier in the Saturday tournament, Lt Col Michael Mulwa of the Kenya Airforce, Eastleigh Airbase, produced a stellar performance of 43 Stableford points to emerge the overall winner of the corporate tournament held at the same facility. His victory earned him a direct slot in the series’ grand finale to be held in Vipingo in early August.
The Saturday’s corporate tournament also ran alongside the Golf Outreach dubbed ‘Golf Mtaani’ held at MCEDO Beijing Grounds in Mathare Constituency, with over 100 young people getting an opportunity to learn basic skills about golf from Safaricom’s golf professional trainers.
With only two legs remaining before the grand finale on 6th August in Vipingo, the tour has so far attracted close to 6,000 golfers who have taken part in the various tournaments, junior clinics and outreach programmes. The next leg of the tour is scheduled for 23rd July at Vet Lab Golf Club.
To grow the sport among junior players in the country, Safaricom has partnered with the Junior Golf Foundation to tap and nurture young talent. The juniors can register with the Junior Golf Foundation (JGF) for KES.1,000, which grants them access to play at any golf club in the country.