Nairobi — Kenya's national men's golf team flew to Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday morning ready for this year's Central Gauteng's International Team Tournament scheduled for this Friday at the Maccauvlei Golf Club.

Speaking to the Nation on arrival at Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, team manager Raymond Nyamweya said the players were more than set for the tournament.

He said the three home-based players, Francis Kimani (captain), Collins Omondi and Boniface Simwa, participated in the weekend's Nyanza Open at Nyanza Golf Club Kisumu as their final build-up.

"The players are all set for the tournament and though we have yet to establish what kind of a course Maccauvlei is, we will definitely give the event our best shot," said Nyamweya who is also the treasurer of the Kenya Golf Union.

Kimani and Simwa are both off-scratch players while Omondi is currently playing off plus two.

The three players were joined by Kenya Amateur Strokeplay champion Stefan Andersen who is based in South Africa and currently playing off plus four handicap. Nyamweya said the team will participate in the 50th edition of the Harry Oppenheimer Championship, a 72-hole event Wednesday and Thursday before moving to Maccauvlei for the Central Gauteng International on Friday and Saturday.

Won the tournament

Teams Tournament, which is celebrating its 21st anniversary this year, has attracted a record 22 teams. Besides Kenya, other international teams will come from Botswana (2), Zimbabwe, Namibia, Swaziland, Uganda and Tanzania.

Hosts Central Gauteng Golf Union are being represented by three teams - team A will have Ryan Clarke, Steven Ferreira, Yubin Jung and Tyrone Ryan while B will be made up of Neil Homann, Stephen Johnston, Trevor Muggeridge and Danny Hammond.

Team C will have Thabo Maseko, Ruan de Smidt, Danie van Tonder and Haydn Portious. Yubin Jung in the A team was among the four players who represented South Africa during the recent Africa Amateur Championship in Cairo, Egypt, where South Africa won the tournament for the fifth time.

Meanwhile during the weekend's Nyanza Open, Francis Kimani extended his lead in the 2009 Golfer Of The Year (GOTY) series to eight points after firing rounds of 72 and 71 for a total of 143 to win by one shot from Collins Omondi and Vet Lab's Ali Orende.

He now leads with a total of 83 points and all set to retain the GOTY title though there are two more events, the Uhuru Shield next weekend at Royal and the grand finale at Nyali on December 19 and 20.

Sigona; Captains prize Mr. Palkesh Shah; Overall Winner : Sajan Shah 37 diff points. Saayam Shah 38, David Mukuria 40, Jitesh Shah 42, Jimmy Ndenderu 44, Bipin Shah 45 cb Dipak Halai 45, Mohit Mediratta 46. Past captain winner: Ted Macharia 48, Winner 2009 director: Palu Dhanani 49, Best overall lady winner: Jane Njau 47, Best overall junior winner: Kush Sira 47.