All eyes on Dar golfer as Coast Open tees off
The 2018 Coast Open champion Tanzanian Neema Ulomi in action during a past tournament. She will be seeking to retain her title when this year’s tournament roars into life in Mombasa, Kenya, today. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Tanzania’s top lady golfers Ulomi and Eaton are among 60 players eyeing top honours at the Coast Open, which tees off today in Kenya
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s highly-famed lady golfer, Neema Ulomi, will be the major attraction when this year’s Coast Open golf championship tees off in Mombasa, Kenya.
Defending champion Ulomi has been honing her skills in Kenya since Monday ahead of the championship, which starts today at the Links Mombasa Golf Club course.
This year’s Coast Open marks a major milestone not only in the history of the Mombasa Golf Club, but Kenya as a whole.
Also known as the Barry Cup, the event marks 100 years since its inception, just two years after the opening of the club in 1911.
Naomi told The Citizen by phone from Mombasa yesterday that she was in high spirit, raring to retain her title.
“I know that this year’s tournament will feature a number of top golfers from around the African continent, but I am ready for the challenge,” she said.
The Coast Open trophy was donated by the first captain of the club, Percy Barry, in 1913.
It has been taking place annually since then, save for years when the First and Second World wars were fought, thus making it the oldest national Order of Merit tournament in Kenya.
Though still being played over 36 holes, the Coast Open has continued to attract the country’s elite amateur golfers as well as others from across the East Africa region and beyond.
Many top golfers in Kenya have passed through the tiny but most challenging Mombasa Golf Club course, and many of them have lifted the Barry Cup more than once.
However, Kenya’s legendary golfer, the late John Mucheru’s record of eight victories remains intact.
Mucheru – one of the best golfers Kenya has ever produced – won the Barry Cup for the first time in 1975 and the last time in 1991.
He followed the late Bob Marjan, one of the top golfers from Kenya Railway Golf Club, who paved the way for Africans by winning the 1971 title.
Ulomi, a member of Arusha Golf Club, arrived in Mombasa on Monday alongside compatriots Angel Eaton and Vicky Elias.
Eaton – the 2018 IBB Nigeria Ladies Open champion – was also busy yesterday, perfecting her tactics for what promises to be tough but thrilling event.
One of the local golfers expected to compete in the four-day event is Lina Francis from Arusha Gymkhana Club.
Also on the list are Vicky Elias, Ayne Magombem, Hawa Wanyeche and Chiku Elias, all from the TPDF Lugalo Club, as well as Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club’s Lina Nkya.
