Kioni makes history with win in Rift Valley Matchplay tournament

Francis Kioni emerged victorious in a thrilling final to become the champion of the recently restored 95-year-old Rift Valley Matchplay Championship, once a signature event at the Nakuru Golf Club, on Saturday.

The intense showdown was the main event during the Mashujaa Charity Shield Golf Tournament, which raised over Sh660,000 to support the Love and Hope Center, a home dedicated to caring for the sick and needy.

Kioni's hard-fought win against his formidable opponent in the final, Esto Gentral in a match he described as "intense and challenging.

Following his dramatic win, an emotional Kioni spoke about the satisfaction of claiming the title.

"I feel incredibly honoured, happy, and delighted to be the first-ever champion of the Rift Valley Matchplay Championship here at Nakuru Golf Club," Kioni said. "The match was demanding, and my opponent was highly competitive, which made the victory even more rewarding."

He noted that with only four holes remaining and the match tightly contested, the win required immense determination to pull through.

A total of 148 golfers had registered to play at the beginning of the tournament, which started three months ago.

The match was a rollercoaster of momentum shifts. Kioni pointed to a critical moment in hole number eight, where he almost lost his margin by making a bogey on a particularly challenging hole with tough pin placement near the bunker. Even though his opponent had a stroke penalty, they ended up halving the hole.

Other winners were led by Sarat Singh, who won in Division One with 33 stableford points. Mathew Maiyo bagged the Division Two Men title with a score of 36 stableford points.

Shining in the lady’s division was Linda Munyao who garnered 37 stableford points.

Patrick Koech was the Division Four-man winner with a score of 34 stableford points, while Pauline Muthoni won in the lady’s category.

The senior winner prize was won by MM Macharia with a score of 30 stableford points. The Junior winner prize was bagged by Adelle Jeptoo, who returned a score of 24 stableford points.

Meanwhile, there was a sombre mood when some 171 players and guests joined the nation in paying tribute to the late Raila Odinga on Saturday evening.

This was at Nyali Golf and Country Club during the prize giving ceremony for this year’s 3rd Edition of the Kirima golf tournament which was organised by the Kirima Golfing Society (KGS) 

KGS acting Chairman Peter Maina led the gathering to observe a ‘minute silence’ in honour of the fallen former Prime Minister.

Home club’s Andrew Miheso was the day’s hero after carding 44 points to emerge the ultimate Kirima member overall winner.

“I am delighted for recording the day’s top score, but to me, it is ‘Baba's’ day and I dedicate this to him as we join mourners during this difficult time,” said Miheso.

Henry Kamau brought a 6 over par 77 gross to emerge the gross winner while Nancy Gathungu on 38 points and Florence Karimi on 35 points were the Kirima member winner and runners up respectively.

Ian Marshall was the men winner carding 41 points beating Faizullah Kudrati to the runners up slot by a single point difference.

The top lady’s prize was won by Navinder Kaur with a score of 40 points and Daxaben Vekaria brought 38 points to settle for the runners up.

Perviz Barnsley claimed the senior prize after carding 43 points and Tony Gachau played 33 points to clinch the junior prize.

The Kirima guest prize was won by James Ndung’u with a score of 36 points,3 points ahead of runners up Keigo Nakamura.