Home player Michael Karanga shot a fantastic 2 under par 72 to win the inaugural Kiambu Open.
Karanga played a 4 under par in the first round to take a four-shot lead from Uganda’s Michael Alunga and Kenya Railway’s Joseph Gathumbi. In the second round, he played 2 over par and maintained the lead by four strokes.
Gathumbi played identical rounds of 1 over par to finish second on 2 over par, beating Alunga on countback. Junior golfer Elvis Muigua had a hole-in-one at hole no. 4
The first Kiambu Open attracted 70 players from Kiambu, VetLab, Golf Park, Eldoret, Windsor, Ruiru, Mombasa, Sigona, Royal Nairobi, Kenya Railway, Kericho, Machakos, Kakamega, Muthaiga, Thika Greens, Limuru and Great Rift Valley Golf clubs as well as Uganda.
The event is one of the three new events that were added to the Kenya Amateur Golf Championships (KAGC) circuit alongside the Golf Park Open held in May and Malindi Open ‘Vasco Da Gama Cup’ in August.
The players compete for KAGC ranking points which contribute to the selection of amateurs to the 2023 Magical Kenya Open. Two amateurs — Dennis Maara and John Lejirma have already earned slots after winning the Kenya Amateur Matchplay Championships and Kenya Amateur Strokeplay Championships respectively.
The Kenya Golf Union chairman, Njani Ndiritu, said: “We are excited to see the conclusion of a well-organised tournament and we are open to any requests from clubs to host a KAGC event.”
He urged the golfers to do the Rules Schools Training to ensure the standards of the game is upheld. Kiambu captain — Harrison Mwaura thanked KGC for Kiambu’s inclusion in the KAGC calendar and promised to continue organising the event annually.
The competition heads to North Rift for Nandi Bear Open Shield this weekend followed by Uhuru Shield at Royal Nairobi Golf Club on December 2-4 and the Nyali Open on December 9-11.
