Shot in the arm for Tanzania’s golfing sensation Joseph

Dar es Salaam. Top golfer Victor Joseph will compete in the 2020 Magical Kenya Open under the auspices of Absa Bank Tanzania, it has been revealed.

The bank’s managing director, Abdi Mohamed, said yesterday that they were happy with Joseph’s ambition to excel internationally.

“We always aim at bringing possibilities into life,” said Mohamed.

“Knowing that Joseph is the current number one golfer in Tanzania, we want to be part of his success story by facilitating his participation in the tournament,” he said.

He said the bank was always proud to be associated with sports so as to inspire the youth, as Joseph does, into showing they are capable to brush shoulders with world-class players.

Kenya Open is an annual golf tournament founded in 1967.

It has been an event on Europe-based Challenge Tour schedule since 1991, before being affix onto the European Tour in 2019.

The tournament’s past champions include Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam, Ken Brown, Christy O’Connor Jr and Trevor Immelman.

“Joseph is a symbol of ambitions. We, Absa Bank Tanzania, respect the ambitions of our customers as well as those of our nation at large,” said Mohamed.

“We feel obliged to give him support, and we believe he won’t let us down,” he added.

Earlier, Absa Tanzania head of Marketing and Corporate Relations, Aron Luhanga, said the golfer would be fully sponsored.

“We have provided him with a return ticket to Nairobi, allowances as well as golf gears,” he said.

Luhanga urged Tanzanians to play down the misguided notion that golf was reserved sport for the affluent.

He said it (golf) was like any other sport and was open to people from all walks of life, whether driven by the urge to keep fit or are out to make money.

Joseph, flanked by veteran golfers Martin Warioba and Marian Mugo, thanked the bank for the support and promised not to let them down.

“I want to be brand ambassador for Absa Bank Tanzania in the tournament as well as in other future golf competitions,” he said.

Joseph, a member of Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club, qualified for the Magical Kenya Open following his impressive performance in the Kenya Open Amateur Strokeplay a few months ago.

Kenya Open Amateur Strokeplay Golf Championship was cancelled at the par 72 Thika Greens Golf Resort because of the heavy rain which left the course waterlogged.

As a result, the Tanzanian, who led in the third round with a 54-hole score of one under par 215, was declared the new Kenya Open Amateur Strokeplay champion.

Joseph had posted one under par 71 in the third round to grab the lead from defending champion Samuel Njoroge of Kenya, who had carded two over par 74 for a total of 216 gross.

He is now in Nairobi for the four-day Magical Kenya Open, which tees off on Saturday.