Nyali Golf Club amateur player William Onyango Odek is the winner of this year’s Governor’s Cup Golf tournament in Malindi after emerging the overall winner in the Elite Amateur category.
More than 53 professionals and amateur golfers participated in the two day tournament over the weekend.
“I came just to play this Governor’s cup in Malindi a day before and my first round was good and I played level and the game is too round, so I knew if I manage below plus four automatically I might win and that is what I did and I won,” he said.
Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro through his Gideon Mung’aro Foundation started the tournament three years ago in an effort to revive tourism in Malindi town.
Mung’aro also received the prestigious Jamhuri Kenya Award as the Governor of the year Tourism Transformation in Kenya 2025 in recognition of outstanding excellence and impact for his efforts to promote tourism in Kilifi and Coast region.
He said that the award was a clear proof that reviving tourism was bearing fruits.
“This annual event proudly sponsored through the Gideon Mung’aro Foundation, continues to bring together golfers, partners, and supporters in an effort to promote sports tourism and position Kilifi as a premier sporting destination,” he said.
He added that the oncoming annual cup will be a four-day event and the winner will get a Sh. 1 million prize next year.
Mung’aro also challenged owners of defunct prestigious hotels to either reopen them or sell them to willing investors as a way of boosting investor confidence in the tourism industry.
“Malindi hotels are 100 percent booked and today I tried to look for a room since I wanted to sleep in Malindi but all are booked. I am appealing to owners of hotels like Coral Key, Eden Rock, Coconut Village, Malindi Beach and all the others that closed down a long time ago to revive them, sell or lease them to investors willing to pump resources so that our people can get jobs,” he said.
Herbert Mwachiro said that Governor Mung’aro was a keen proponent of sports tourism and it is the reason he launched the Governor’s Cup tournament three years ago to spur sports tourism in the area.
“This special event was a pro arm tournament with professional players and amateur players and there was prize money from the Governor himself. Today the governor also received a prestigious award for tourism innovation and we are very proud to know that his efforts to build tourism are being recognized by many players, locally and globally,” he said.
Raymond Ngalla, the Kilifi County Executive Committee Member (CECM for Trade,Tourism Culture, Heritage and Cooperative Development said that the Golf Cup was gaining momentum and plans to make it bigger and attract golfers from Kenya, East Africa and the world were on course.
