The top three winners from each category in the just concluded 2022 NCBA Golf Series will get an invitation to play at the Big 5 South Africa Open.
The final leg of the series came to an end on Friday afternoon at Limuru Country Club with 110 budding golfers taking part. Golfers from Kenya, Uganda, the USA, India, China, and South Africa took part.
Forty-two junior golfers, who finished among the top across 14 categories, were feted for their performances in the tournament which had been organised according to the junior golfers' ages.
The junior golfers aged between 6 -18 years took part in the tournament that was jointly organised by NCBA Group, the Junior Golf Foundation, and the United States Kids Golf Association as part of the NCBA Junior Golf Series.
In the 15-18 years boys’ category, Asa Dinkins emerged as the winner after scoring a total of 148 points over the two days. He was followed by Kevin Anyien and Lee Kimathi who finished in second and third positions with 157 and 158 points respectively.
In the 13-14 years category, Junaid Manji and Ephraim Mugisha were the stars, posting 165 and 173 points respectively to claim first and second positions. Coming in third was Calvin Opati who carded 178 points.
At the same time, Nehemiah Dinkins, Mwathi Gicheru, Ryan Njuguna, Alexander Mbugua, Jerome Njuguna, Paren Reel, Ivan Kipyegon Kimutai claimed the top spots in the 12, 11, 10, nine, eight, seven, and six years categories.
In the girls’ categories, Maryam Mwakitawa emerged the winner in the 15 -18-year-olds category, having carded a total of 170 points. Coming in second was Antonia Mbuthia with 183 points while Tolollo Dhlamini claimed the third spot with 193 points.
Bianca Ngecu claimed the top spot in the 13-14 years category after scoring 161 points. She was followed by Imani Njoki and Navya Nagda who came in second and third having posted 192 and 197 points respectively.
In the 11-12 years category, Belinda Wanjiru scored 155 points to emerge as the champion, followed by Cherono Kipkorir and Brianna Ngecu in second and third positions with 157 and 171 points respectively.
Meanwhile, Kanana Muthomi’s 74 points across the two days were enough for her to claim the bragging rights among the 9-10 year-olds. She was followed by Nyawira Macharia and Britney Nyanchera who posted 89 and 97 points to claim the second and third positions respectively.
At the same time, young Aarna Mengi starred among the eight-year-olds. Irene Asiyo and Lynette Zawadi finished second and third respectively.
Speaking during the tournament, Group director for marketing and communications Nelly Wainaina said; “The great competitive atmosphere we have witnessed here in the past two days gives us reason to be hopeful for the future of Kenyan golf. This new generation will no doubt take Kenyan golf to the next level and we, therefore, commit to continue supporting these tournaments for years to come.”
Wainaina added: “The fact that this competition has brought together over 150 golfers shows the great reception of the tournament among the juniors."
