Adel Balala’s journey to the All Africa Golf Championships begun on a high note after defending the Kabete Open, a Kenya Amateur Golf Championships tournament, at the par 72 Vet Lab Sports Club on Sunday.
The Nyali-based golfer fired four over par 220 to retain the title he won last year as a precursor to the 2022 All Africa Championships that tees off next week in Cairo, Egypt.
The Kenyan team will leaves on Saturday for the Cairo Championships, set for September 26-29.
“Retaining my title was not easy. I had a few challenges on the course but that did not stop me from winning back-to-back titles,” said Balala.
In the 54-hole tournament, Balala started on a bad note on Friday when he fired level par 72, followed by six over par 78 and come Sunday, he managed to sink -2 for the title.
“Many of my teammates have been registering good results and I hope we shall dominate the championships in Cairo,” he said.
In the opening round, Balala managed to lead but fell to Danny Chelogoi in the second round but good shots saved him.
Fresh from winning Hippo Pot, the Nyanza Open, John Lejirma finished second with seven over par 223 with Chelogoi with 225.
Balala, Lejirma of Kenya Railways, Dennis Maara of Limuru and Michael Karanga of Kiambu will represent the country in Cairo where Maara is the captain.
The quartet were part of the team that reclaimed the Region VI golf title in Tanzania early this month. They were also in the Kenyan team of 10 which claimed the Victoria Cup title in Uganda.
