Larry Ngala
23 June 2011
Nairobi — All but two of Kenya’s leading amateur golfers sailed through to Friday’s second round of the Kenya Amateur Matchplay Championship at the par 71 Limuru Country Club course.
Only home player Simon Mwangi and national team member David Opati exited the competition in the first round on Thursday.
Mwangi lost 3-1 to Karen’s Anthony Murage while Opati, who was playing his first tournament since April after an injury, went down by a hole to Thika’s Edwin Kiarie in a closely contested match which saw Kiarie leading by a hole at the turn.
Kenya’s top-ranked player Stefan Andersen easily beat the Golf Park’s S.K. Kimutai with a 7-6 margin.
Also scoring easy wins were junior international Abraham Abdullahi of the Great Rift Resort in Naivasha, who beat R. Waruhiu 7-5, and Karen’s Anthony Kinuthia, who defeated Golf Park’s Kevin Juma 7-5.
Surviving 32 players
South Africa-based Mohit Mediratta beat G, Wahome 6-5. On the back nine, Tony Omuli beat G. Wambugu 9-7 and immediate past Limuru captain Victor Gichuru was also beaten 9-7 by Golf Park’s Kenneth Bollo.
National team captain Francis Kimani will meet one of his players, Jay Sandhu from Royal Nairobi, in Friday’s’s opening round.
Kimani beat Nakuru’s S. Nanji 1 5-4 in a match which he said was a practice round for today’s second. Sandhu on the other hand won 3-2 against J. Wanjohi.
Another top amateur, Joseph Karanja of Golf Park, scored a 3-2 win against J. Katitu and he will now meet Muthaiga’s Frank Matilo. Veteran Evans Vitisia lost at the 18th against youngster Christopher Andrea as did Sigona champion John Ndichu to home player M. Sumar.
The surviving 32 players will do battle from 8.15am with the winning 16 returning in the afternoon to seek places in tomorrow’s quarter-finals.
The competition, the first ever World Ranking event in Kenya, has taken place annually since 1910.
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