•A provisional squad of 12 boys and 10 girls was named based on their yearly performance.
•JGF trustee Vincent Mukiri said the order of merit was crucial in identifying the top players.
Image: HANDOUT
The Junior Golf Foundation-Kenya has picked a team of 22 junior golfers to proceed to training camp from next week ahead of the upcoming international competitions.
A provisional squad of 12 boys and 10 girls was named based on their yearly performance.
JGF trustee Vincent Mukiri said the order of merit was crucial in identifying the top players.
“From the provisional squad, we will have a team that can represent Kenya in the various junior competitions. We hope to involve some of these juniors in select seniors’ competitions. We already know who we can consider instead of just trying to get ready when the competition is about to begin,” he explained.
In the last NCBA US Kids Local Tour tournament at the Muthaiga Golf Club, four junior players played level par or under, showing how much the game has improved among them.
The toast of the tournament was Kanana Muthomi who won the girls 11-12 years old category with a score of three under par 69.
Kanana had a rough first nine with only one birdie and three bogeys. But in the second nine, she was flawless, picking three birdies and an eagle for a remarkable five under par in those nine holes.
“My putts weren’t sinking in the first nine and I made a lot of mistakes. But in the second nine, my course management and putting improved and I played some good golf,” she said.
Aryan Patel won the boys six and under category with a score of -1. Three other players, Maahir Patel (boys 13-14 years), Ivan Ng’eno (8 years) and Ashley Gachora (girls 9-10 years) all played level par.
“It was a game of mixed emotions. I had a bad double bogey at hole number 15 and I got very angry. I think my mind was not in the game at that stage. But everything just turned around in the last hole, where I got an eagle,” said a beaming Ashley.
Following the success of the US Kids tournament, NCBA now plans to spread the game to the kids who ordinarily would not have access to the sport or have no opportunity to pick up the sport.
“When we started this journey, it was about the belief that we must give back to the community and one of our ways of giving is to develop these junior golfers for the future of golf for Kenyans. We have seen about 3000 kids playing across the country and now calling themselves golfers,” said NCBA Group managing director John Gachora. The event held at Muthaiga on Sunday attracted 186 kids.