Mandala, Banda triumph in Nico Life Golf
Donbell Mandala and Carol Mbalanje-Banda on Saturday defied the scorching summer heat to win the Nico Life Insurance Company Limited Golf Tournament in men and women’s category, respectively at Country Club Limbe.
Playing off 14 handicap (h/c), Mandala defended the title with a classic show that saw him register 45 stebleford points—five ahead of his runner-up Furkan Gani (14 h/c) while Suhail Osman came third on 39 points.
Mandala was overjoyed with his feat, saying: “It felt really good to defend the Nico Life title, I think I deserved it because I played good golf today. The atmosphere was amazing and I thank the sponsors for such a wonderful tournament.”
In the ladies’ section, Mbalanje-Banda (18 h/c) scored 36 points to come tops while Sophie Kalambule was her runner-up with 29 points. Veteran golfer Lucy Ganiza (h/c30) came third on 28 points.
Nyakhokho Msona (15h/c) won the seniors’ category with 38 points, Kingsley Chimdima Mhango (9h/c) was second with 36 points while James Chimwaza was third.
The champions received trophies and two-plate gas cookers.
Banda-Mbalanje was also nearest to the pin while Joline Bapi-Pereira had the longest drive whereas in the men’s category, Chrispin Ng’oma was nearest to the pin and Salim Panjwani had the longest drive.
Nico Life chief executive officer Osman Karim thanked the field of 73 golfers “for making a choice to deal with Nico.”
He said they host two tournaments in a year—one in Blantyre and the other in Lilongwe—which help them to interact with their customers.
“The theme this time was ‘golf with a twist’, but we welcome suggestions on how we can improve our tournaments. As Nico Life we will continue to be the leader in life insurance. Our products and services help ensure you have a comfortable future,” he said. n
