Kwambai is the winner of the Kenya seed company golf day
Home golfer Victor Kwambai delivered a commanding performance to clinch top honours during the opening leg of the Kenya Seed Golf Series at the nine-hole Eldoret Golf Club course on Saturday.
Playing off handicap 22, Kwambai returned an impressive 43 Stableford points to edge out a competitive field of 132 golfers and secure his first win of the season. The tournament acted as a build-up event to the Kenya Seed Classic, set for two weeks’ time at the 18-hole Kitale Golf Club.
Kwambai opened steadily, mixing pars and bogeys to post 23 points on the outward nine. He began with a par at the second, recovered well at the fifth and seventh, and remained composed despite a couple of dropped shots.
On the inward nine, he showed resilience after dropping a shot at the par-five 10th. He parred the 11th and recovered strongly from bogeys on the 12th and 15th with solid finishes on the closing holes, collecting 20 points for a winning total of 43.
The former rugby player said playing alongside Kigen Limo and Dennis in a competitive flight pushed him to raise his game.
“I am happy to have won. I did not expect it, but my week-long training, especially on putting, really helped me. The competition was tough and the stakes were high, but this turned out to be my best win,” said Kwambai.
John Kibosia finished first runner-up with 41 points, while Eldoret’s Dennis Rono settled for third place on 40 points.
Nandi’s Kimeli Mutai and Faith Ann claimed the longest drive prizes in the men’s and ladies’ categories respectively, as Josephine Chesang won the nearest-to-the-pin award. Mutai also emerged gross winner after firing a one-over-par 72.
Edwin Ruto claimed the staff prize with 32 points, Thomas Nderitu won the junior title on 29 points, while Edwin Kipchumba bagged the best effort award with 16 points.
Managing director of Kenya Seed Company Sammy Chepsiror said the tournament was organised to appreciate the firm’s stakeholders.
“We appreciate our customers and want to assure farmers that we have sufficient quality and affordable seed varieties for this planting season. We also urge them to purchase seeds from certified stockists to avoid counterfeit products,” said Chepsiror.
The event attracted golfers from neighbouring clubs including Nandi Bears, Kitale and Kakamega.
