Like the Rose Naliaka Academy which has had a longstanding reputation for producing players of national repute, Alice Wahome’s contribution towards junior development speaks volumes about her success story.
In 2012, the Kenya national junior team was entirely drawn from the coastal region, thanks to Wahome’s unswerving support which has helped a myriad juniors realise their potential in the sport.
“I have a lot of passion for the juniors. I wake up every morning striving to make a difference in junior golf development,” remarked Wahome.
For a long period, her production line has contributed immensely towards bolstering the Junior Golf Foundation (JGF) player base.
Her son, Mathew Wahome is a beneficiary of the programme. Mathew became the youngest ever player in the history of Kenyan golf to win the 2014 Barry Cup, a hugeachievement for a youngster.
During Matthew’s time, there were five other great players who dominated the game at junior level. Jeremy Wahome, Adel Balala, Tahir Mohamed, John Mburu, Roy Maina and Emmanuel Lumatete, but there was a vacuum of sorts when the entire group proceeded for university education abroad.
“That time the Mombasa Tannerhill team was almost an all-juniors affair. This actually encouraged and challenged other clubs to start incorporating their top juniors into their Tannahill teams which had for time immemorial remained a preserve for the seniors. The Tannahill Shield is the biggest inter-club championship in Kenya and indeed the longest running sporting event in Kenya,” observed Wahome.
Wahome has revealed her recent plan geared towards incorporating kids from needy communities into the sport, with the sole aim of demystifying the ‘rich man’s’ sport mentality.
“I have started a new team from under-privileged schools in Kongowea and Maweni. These are kids who would never have had the chance to play golf. We are demystifying the old belief that golf is a rich man’s sport by spreading our tentacles to the grassroots. These underprivileged group comprises of kids in Class Three, Four and Five. I also have a team of eight trained coaches who assist in this initiative,” added Wahome.
Youngsters from her Nyali stable, who lived their dream to grace the prestigious Kenya Open in the European Challenge Tour era are Agil-Is-Haq, his son Mathew Wahome who played during the 2016 edition and the reigning Kenya Matchplay Champion Daniel Nduva, now a leading off-scratch amateur in the Kenya Amateur Golf Championship (formerly Goty).
Nduva became the first amateur from Nyali to taste European Tour competition during the 2019 Magical Kenya Open at Karen Country Club. Mathew retained the prestigious Barry Cup in after he carded 2 over par 143 at Mombasa Golf Club. Kenyan international golfer Mathew Wahome, then 17, retained his title after winning the 2015 Coast Open Championship also known as the Barry Cup, for the second year running at the par 71 Mombasa Golf Course.
The Barry Cup is the oldest Golf trophy competed for in the Coast having first been donated to the Mombasa Golf Club in 1913. Although Nduva never made the cut on the Magical Kenya Open, brushing shoulders with the Tour’s best was a dream come true. With previous Nyali youngsters having already taken some impressive scalps at the highest level, a new group of juniors are electrifying the greens and fairways of the Par 71 North Coast course with zest and vigour.
At only 13 years of age, Andrew Wahome was among the six players picked from Nyali to play at the 2019 KCB Karen Masters Pro-Am slated for June. The Karen Masters, is a round of the prestigious Sunshine Tour, the biggest on the African continent. The young Andrew, younger brother to Mathew, earned the slot upon winning the Junior trophy at the second round of the KCB Road To The Masters.
At this year’s Karen Masters Andrew will be joining overall winner Joyce Masai. Men’s winner Joseph Oluoch, guest winner Fred Wagura (Golf Park), wildcard holder Abubakar Bajaber (picked from a lucky dip of cards at the ‘19th hole’) and the staff winner, Ibrahim Lande — the KCB Bank Platinum Relations Manager.
“It’s such a good feeling to earn a slot to the Karen Masters Pro-Am. This will give members from our club an opportunity to brush shoulders with local and foreign professionals in a scintillating and competitive Pro-Am atmosphere. I can’t wait to be in Karen,” said Andrew .
Other juniors from Nyali currently giving seniors a run for their money include Zayan Din (15), Rumil Jayasinghe (15), Nathan Ngweno (15 ) and Alyssa Jamal (14).
Andrew is playing off handicap 7, Zayan is off 13, Rumil - 20, Nathan - 17 and Alyssa - 15.
“Standards have been set and only the sky’s the limit. General hard work and focus are the juniors’ buzzwords. If you see how well the diminutive stars strike the ball off the tee boxes and how their short game approach comes through, you will be rest assured that the future is definitely bright at the coast,” said Wahome. “The current crop of juniors are hoping to follow in the footsteps of Balala, Nduva, Agil-Is-Haq and Andrew, who became household names at the national level, and as the old Chinese adage goes, a journey of a 1000 miles begins with one step.”
“The juniors at Nyali are awesome in all aspects of the game. At the range they strive to up their long game and always savour their moments on the practice green, trying perfect their putts. They were recently sponsored by Safaricom to play at the PGA Ladies Invitational Pro-Am at Vipingo Ridge PGA course, where Zayan and Andrew finished second overall. They are the pride of Nyali Golf and Country Club.”
Some have had the opportunity to interact with players at renowned overseas academies. Zayan went to TGSE golf academy in South Africa while Andrew and Nathan attended the Gary Player World of Golf in South Africa while Alyssa attended a golfing school in Canada.
Wahome who is also the Junior Golf Foundation Convener in Mombasa, added: “Our juniors are a very enthusiastic lot and want to play top flight golf in their teens. Our junior initiative was truly boosted by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s announcement that the Government of Kenya will support national and junior teams. We aspire to inspire junior players at the coast and their unrivaled enthusiasm has truly surpassed our expectation.”
