Pacesetters Team Western got off to a strong start in the opening matches of the Tannahill Shield as they raced to the top of the leaderboard after amassing a total of 14 points.
The Westerners, featuring a cocktail of players from several clubs in the western region, won seven out of their eight matches, the biggest victory coming from the match against Windsor where they won all the four games. They only lost one match today to Team Railway. Team Western will be hoping to build on today’s momentum as they head into tomorrow’s 36-hole contests searching their first Tannahill Shield title since 1996, two points ahead of Team Mombasa.
The visiting Mombasa players staged the day’s biggest upset when they routed defending champions Team Muthaiga 3-1 to bag six valuable points. The coast lads went on to bag another six points against Team Karen after winning three matches to open a three-point gap against hosts Team Royal.
The hosts who have been on a recovery path since sinking to their lowest two years ago, started modestly with two wins over Team Limuru and another two wins and a draw against Sigona to bag nine points. They are followed closely by neighbours Railway who had a disastrous opening day outing after losing three matches against Team Western. Team Railway, last year’s joint runner up, however managed three wins against whipping boys Team Windsor. They are joined on eight points by Team Sigona and Team Sigona while Team Limuru is one behind. It was a rather an uncharacteristic start for Team Muthaiga which has dominated the event in the last three years. Perennial relegation candidates Team Karen and Team Windsor prop the table with four and two points respectively.
The inter-club foursome event is played over four rounds in three days. One round is played on Friday, while Saturday features a grueling 36-hole test with players wrapping up the tournament with an 18-hole round on Sunday morning.
DAY 1 LEADERBOARD
Western 14
Mombasa 12
Royal 9
Railway 8
Muthaiga 8
Sigona 8
Limuru 7
Karen 4
Windsor 2
