Swedens Linda Wessberg rules in Vipingo

Sweden’s Linda Wessberg is the winner of both the ProAm team prize and the overall leading Pro prize at the second ProAm round at the Vipingo Invitational after returning an individual score of 2-under 70.

The 39-year old Wessberg, who has played professionally since 2003, opened her round with two birdies on the par-5 2nd hole and the par-5 6th hole but dropped shots on the par-3 4th and the par-4 7th for an even par total through the first nine holes. Through the second nine, Wessberg sunk three birdes at the 11th, 15th and 17th holes and dropped a single shot on the difficult par-4 16th.

Inci Mehmet, England and Frida Gustafson Spang, Sweden finished in joint second place with an even par score of 72. Amy Boulden, Wales finish fourth on 73 whilst Florentyna Parker, England, was fifth on 74. The pair of Camilla Lennarth, Sweden and Laura Fuenfstueck, German finished joint sixth with a score of 75.

The team competition was a tight contest with four different teams finishing with 44 stable points. The teams included those of Pro Linda Wessberg, Naomi Wafula and Florence Kirimi, Pro Florentyna Parker, Charles Gacheru and David Nyale, Pro Noemi Jimenez, Gurbux Singh and Fred Muteti and Pro Camilla Lennarth, Hanif Walli and Joyce Masai.

But it was the team of Wessberg, Wafula and Kirimi that a better score after countback to claim victory.

This ProAm was the last of two at the Vipingo Ladies Invitational that included 13 golf professionals and nearly 40 amateur golfers who go to play with the lady professionals through two days.

Commenting about the Ladies Invitation, Vipingo Director Alastair Cavenagh said that this was a precursor to a fully fledged Ladies European Tour (LET) event.

“We have been working hard to have a Tour event at Vipingo and we are very glad that the Government through the Ministry of Tourism and Safaricom Mpesa joined hands with us to put on this Invitational event and to show what is possible,” he said. “We are very grateful to the 13 lady professionals who made the trip to Kenya and to UCom who made it possible. We are looking forward to staging a full LET event at Vipingo later in the year.”

Speaking during the prize giving ceremony, CS Najib Balala said the Government had committed Euros 600,000 (Sh63m) to the full LET event.

“We will work hand in hand with Safaricom Mpesa and with Vipingo to stage a full Ladies European Tour event here at Vipingo in October 2019,” he said. “These events and the Magical Kenya Open, which is being played in Nairobi, focus the eyes of the world on Kenya as a superior golf tourism destination; I have no doubt that our investment here will have a huge impact on tourism throughout the country.”