Ngomwa, Perreira triumph in NBM Golf

A bewitching display on back nine saw Andrew Ngomwa win the National Bank of Malawi (NBM) Golf Tournament played on stableford format at Blantyre Sports Club (BSC).

Birdies on holes 15 and 18 coupled with bogeys on the back nine, saw the 19-handicap (h/c) golfer score a decent 22 points on back nine after registering 16 points on the front nine to amass 38 points—two above his runner-up Stevie Chanje (18h/c). Gift Gondwe (23h/c) was third on 35 points.

“I played fantastic golf today right from the word go. I would like to thank the sponsors NBM for such a wonderful tournament and prizes,” said Ngomwa who received a bike and a trophy as his prizes.

In the ladies category, 30-handicapped Joline Bapu-Perreira stood up to be counted after scoring 36 points to pip Lilongwe-based Jochebed Mpanga (33h/c) by four points. Mpanga counted out Lilian Kawaza (23h/c) to third position.

“I think the good conditions of the course contributed to my victory and I would like to thank my playing partners and the sponsors, it was a great tournament,” said Bapu-Perreira.

Bashir Shariff (26h/c), who keeps getting better like old vintage wine, won the seniors’ category with 36 points.

Furkan Gani has the longest drive while William Mabulekesi was nearest to the pin on hole number 14 in men’s category where as in women’s section, Harriet Mariani had the longest drive on hole number seven while Zimbabwe-based Aulia Alfazema was nearest to the pin on hole number one.

NBM head of strategy, marketing and corporate affairs Wilkins Mijiga thanked golfers for their participation in the tournament which had a field of 100.

“The bank’s objective in organising golf tournaments is that first and foremost, people that play gold are those that drive and run the economy and we want to create a platform for you to wind down [and] it further creates an opportunity to interact with you and get your feedback on our services as well as update you on any other developments,” he said.

The bank donated K350 000 for the maintenance of the greens. n