Nairobi — Although a number of tournaments have emerged over the years, the Kenya Golf Union's Golfer of the Year series remains the biggest of them all.

The GOTY - as it's popularly known as - is the icing on the cake in any top amateur's resume. Featuring a total of 18 tournaments spread all over the country, the GOTY has over the years been the yardstick with which to measure the amateurs' performances.

This year, the KGU has brought on board the Kenya Data Networks (KDN) as title sponsors for this year's championship.

KGU vice-chairman, David Nyakango, says landing a title sponsor for the GOTY series was long overdue.

"Over the years, GOTY events have been backed by various sponsors, sourced mainly by the golf clubs," Nyakango says. "This year, the KGU managed to get a title sponsor to work alongside any other sponsors. This development is aimed at improving the standard of each GOTY event and, hopefully, improving the standard of golf in Kenya."

As title sponsors, KDN have invested Sh4.5m this season.

"By coming to support the premier amateur series in Kenya, KDN seeks to improve the game of golf and to support the development of a strong amateur base," Vincent Wango'mbe, the marketing manager at KDN, said in an interview this week.

Although our sponsorship is valued at just over Sh4 million, we are putting much more in terms of supporting deserving players, who may not always be able to travel to the various venues, and we are also spending money on subsidiary golf events for the average weekend golfer at each venue."

Nyakang'o says the sponsorship from KDN will achieve two main objectives.

"Firstly, we expect this sponsorship to make each and every GOTY event in 2008 fairly uniform in terms of prizes, catering, golf give-aways and so on. "This will encourage our young, budding amateur golfers to travel to each and every event, even those venues where sponsorship was sometimes wanting.

"Secondly, we believe that this sponsorship will see larger and larger numbers of low handicap golfers playing at the KDN GOTY events and, by so doing, increase the level of competitiveness. This can only be good for golf."

Marginal events

Traditionally, the GOTY series has attracted about 30 to 40 golfers who compete between themselves from January to December. The KDN sponsorship may just change that, encouraging more golfers to travel and take part in even the marginal events in upcountry locations.

KGU Chairman Patrick Obath said KDN's title sponsorship is exactly what the union wanted.

"Golf, just like any other sport, needs support from the corporate world.

Centred on skill

And although golf enjoys its fair share of sponsorship, most of it has been directed to social or fun golf.

The KDN sponsorship is centred on the skills and talent of young amateur golfers.

This weekend, the 2008 KDN GOTY series moves to Muthaiga for the Muthaiga Open where home player Greg Snow, the defending champion and winner of the 2007 GOTY series, will be among a galaxy of stars who will be parading to seek the Open title plus some points towards the series.

Also expected to feature is Ganeev Giddie, winner of the first event in the series, the 2008 Sigona Bowl, Thika's Simon Ngige, who won the Mount Kenya Championship in Nyeri and David Wakhu who displayed some rare talent during last week's KCB Pro-Am Tour event at the same venue. Massimo Vinaccia, runner up to Snow in 2007, is among those expected to challenge Snow for the title.

The Muthaiga Open, which comes barely a week before the 2008 Tusker Kenya Open at Karen, will also be an opportune moment for the top six amateurs to spruce themselves up for the Karen show.

From Muthaiga, the GOTY action will then switch to Windsor and Country Club towards the end of March.

In April, Limuru will host the Brackenhurst Cup while in May, players will have to start the up-country journeys.

But before then, Thika Sports Club will host Winston Churchill Championship before the players travel to the North Rift town of Kitale for the Trans Nzoia Open.

Formerly the Amateur Championship, the Coronation Trophy will take place in June at Nakuru followed by country's only major match play contest, the Kenya Amateur Match Play Championship at Sigona.

Victory at Sigona will earn the lucky winner an automatic ticket into the 2009 Kenya Open.

The Coast Open at the scenic Mombasa Golf Club, venue for the 2007 World Cross Country Championships, and the Hippo Pot at the Nyanza Club are among the tournaments held outside Nairobi.

Action will return to Nairobi in September for the Karen Challenge followed by the Tea Fields Trophy in Kericho.

One event that has always attracted multiple sponsors is the Diani Beach Masters at Leisure Golf Club where KDN will supplement the role played by title sponsors Kenya Airways this year.

This year, the Kenya Amateur Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship, which remain the only 72-hole strokeplay contest in the series will be hosted by Limuru Country Club.

As usual Eldoret, will host the Manchester Salver and, before winding up the season with the Nyali Open in mid-December, golfers will battle it out for the Uhuru Shield at the Royal Nairobi club.