Nathan Kimutai delivered a spectacular round of golf on Saturday to emerge the overall winner of the “Tee Off with Crown” tournament held at the prestigious Royal Nairobi Golf Club.
The event, sponsored by Crown Paints Kenya PLC, drew an impressive field of 266 golfers.
Playing off a handicap of 15, Kimutai carded a remarkable nett score of 58 to top the leaderboard and walk away with the overall title.
“Today has been a good day for me. I’ve been chasing this win forever. Every time I come close, something always happens,” Kimutai said during the prize-giving ceremony.
“Yesterday, I was one over par up to hole 17, but then played a 13 on the last hole. But today, everything just clicked. I played four over on the front nine and finished one under on the back nine.”
In the men’s category, Daniel Mwamati (handicap 18) posted an impressive 61 nett to clinch the title, edging out Chetan Solanki (handicap 22), who also returned a score of 61 but settled for the runner-up position on countback.
Linus Kowiti secured third place with a nett score of 62.
Florence Maina (handicap 14) was crowned the top lady golfer with a nett 62, narrowly ahead of Jinnel Mwangi (handicap 24), who matched the score but took the runner-up slot on countback.
Pal Thethy (handicap 29) emerged as the Senior Winner with an excellent score of 59 nett.
In Division 4, Bernard Dulo (handicap 32) matched the tournament’s top score with a nett 58, showcasing a strong performance in his category.
Morris Njue (handicap 9) claimed the Best First Nine prize with a nett 31, while Zakayo Karimi (handicap 33) posted an impressive 26 nett to take the Best Second Nine award.
Collins Too, playing off a handicap of 7, was the Gross Winner with a solid round of 72.
In the juniors’ category, Hakeem Mutungi (handicap 18) carded a nett 68 to take top honours.
Among sponsor participants, Crown Paints PLC chief executive officer Dr. Rao Rakesh (handicap 15) was the best performer with a nett 76.
Christopher Andrea (handicap -1) took home the Sponsor’s Guest title after returning a nett score of 69.
Royal Nairobi Golf Club captain Willy Mastamet lauded the tournament and the turnout.
“We really enjoyed ourselves. It was a great, fun day. Crown Paints has been a strong partner of Royal Nairobi Golf Club, having also supported the 100th edition of the Tannahill tournament earlier this year. Today was another fantastic day,” said Mastamet.
Crown Paints CEO Dr. Rakesh Rao echoed the sentiment, saying: “My experience today was truly amazing. I usually find it tough to play here, but today I had a great round with my fourball. I scored well and really enjoyed the day. The hospitality here is outstanding—this is one of the warmest clubs in Kenya.”
