Mudanyi wins GOTY title despite Nyali loss

What you need to know:

  • Vet Lab Sports Club’s Edwin Mudanyi, as expected, clinched the Golfer of the Year Award despite failing to defend his Nyali Open title at the par 71 Nyali Golf and Country Club course at the weekend.
  • Mudanyi, one of the most polished amateur golfers in the country and a member of Kenya’s national team, finished sixth with a score of 226 gross made up of 74, 75 and 77.
  • This earned 19.2 points for a grand total of 500.8 points, beating Royal Nairobi’s Dennis Saikwa by 56.9 points.

Vet Lab Sports Club’s Edwin Mudanyi, as expected, clinched the Golfer of the Year Award despite failing to defend his Nyali Open title at the par 71 Nyali Golf and Country Club course at the weekend.

Mudanyi, one of the most polished amateur golfers in the country and a member of Kenya’s national team, finished sixth with a score of 226 gross made up of 74, 75 and 77.

This earned 19.2 points for a grand total of 500.8 points, beating Royal Nairobi’s Dennis Saikwa by 56.9 points. “I did not play well this weekend though my plan was win the GOTY title in great style by retaining the my Nyali Open title,” said Mudanyi.

He said though the course was in great condition, his short game let him down, particularly in the closing round. This year, Mudanyi won his home event, the Kabete Open, as well as Manchester Salver in Eldoret.

RAILWAY INVITATION

He accumulated many points by making several top five finishes in the 19-event annual series which this year was reduced to 18 following the cancellation of the Railways Invitation. Finishing third overall with a total of 437.3 points was former champion John Karichu of Limuru Country Club.

Karichu set the pace and led the series half way the year but eventually faded away particularly over the past four events. During the weekend event, Karichu, like many of the leading amateurs, found the going tough at Nyali where he posted rounds of 79, 77 and 74 to finish in ninth place with a total of 230 gross.

Vet Lab’s Mike Kisia came home fourth with a total of 396 points.

Kisia was awarded a special award for scoring low rounds in the various tournaments that counts towards the Kenya Amateur Golf Championship (KAGC) series.

Another national team player, Samuel Njoroge, was fifth with 309 points while last weekend’s Nyali Open winner Daniel Nduva, who is also the Kenya Amateur Strokeplay champion, was ranked sixth with 234 points despite playing in a few events.