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Magical Kenya Open Golf: Local players reduced to championship spectators
Large crowd followed Kenyan golfer Njoroge Kibugu at the 2026 Magical Kenya Golf Open championship at Karen Golf and Country Club.
The Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship looks set to end today with no local winner for 57th consecutive year. It has been the same sad story for local professional golfers and amateurs in the 57 years the tournament has been held.
In 2022, Kibugu Njoroge is the only Kenyan player who made the cut in the DP World Tour event. He finished joint 64th. In 2023, his brother Mutahi Kabugu was the only Kenyan who made the cut, eventually finishing joint 65th. No Kenyan made the cut in 2024 and 2025.
In 1998, Jacob Okello came closest to winning the tournament when he finished second. This year, Kibugu again was the only player out of 12 Kenyan professionals and six amateurs to make the second round cut in the tournament. On Saturday, Kibugu played a birdie-less front nine that included four bogeys, despite making an effort at the back nine. He managed one birdie at the 18th that gave him four over par 74, and he dropped to the bottom of the leaderboard with one under par 209.
Local players have again been left scratching their heads after the 57th edition of the tournament proved the most competitive ever. That 89 players returned an under-par score after the first round, the cut having been set at -4 (minus four) after the first two rounds, was a clear manifestation of how competitive the tournament was.
Njoroge Kibugu lines a putt at hole 18 during the Magical Kenya Golf Open Championships at Karen Country Club on February 21,2026.
Such high standards have never been witnessed before in the history of the championship that started in 1967.
For instance, when the event was held for the first time as part of the main European Tour (DP Tour) in 2019, the cut was set at +3. In 2021, it was set at -2. In 2022, it was set at level par. In 2023, the cut was set at -1. It was at level par in 2024.
Last year, the second round cut was also set at level par. This year, the tournament welcomed a competitive field that comprised six former champions, among them defending champion Jacques Kruyswijk from South Africa.
The local players, for once in many seasons, felt the massive support from the corporates. They played in more than 21 events from April last year in the countdown to this year’s event. In 2024, the local players only played one event in the run-up to the Kenya Open Championship.
Although only Njoroge Kibugu made the cut after the first two rounds of five-under par, local players showed improved performance.
Edwin Mudanyi and amateur player John Lejirma each finished on two under-par 138, missing the cut by three shots as Jastas Madoya returned level par.
The professionals reckon that the inaugural Sunshine Development Tour East Africa Swing, which started with the qualifying Tour School in April last year, and the Professional Golfers of Kenya (PGK) Equator Tour made the difference this year.
Sunshine Development Tour East Africa Swing was held over 10 legs. The Equator Tour covered 11 legs.
“Were it not for the Sunshine Development Tour - East Africa Swing, I wouldn’t have got my full tour card at the main Sunshine Tour that has five DP World Tour events,” Kibugu said yesterday.
Not only did Kibugu win four legs in the Sunshine Development Tour - East Africa Swing, but he also won the Order of Merit to snatch the full card for the main Sunshine Tour.
“The local tour really improved my game, but my participation in the main Sunshine Tour will help elevate my game further,” said Kibugu, who made history as the first Kenyan to secure a card for the main Sunshine Tour.
Mudanyi said that the two local tours are what the local professionals needed to help them improve their game. He pointed out that more tours need to be introduced if a Kenyan is to win the DP Tour event.
“The support we got, with more than six corporates supporting the Equator and Sunshine Development Tour, made the difference,” Mudanyi said. “It helped us build the rhyme, and results have been seen. A couple of players narrowly missed the cut.”
Mudanyi noted that Kibugu has stood out among local golfers.
“He won’t feature in the local series unless he is off-duty, and it serves as a platform for those of us left on the local front,” said Mudanyi. He observed that, in comparison, their opponents from the rest of the world had played in more than 30 tournaments.
Kibugu’s older brother Mutahi, said that their parents have invested a lot in them with no backing from sponsors.
“Not that our local professionals are not, but it’s just that they have been neglected and their return has turned the fortune round as seen at Sunshine Development and Equator Tour,” said Mutahi, who urged sponsors not to relent since the results will come soon. “We need more of us playing outside.”
Dismas Indiza, who has only missed Kenya Open once in 2013, said besides the corporates, Kenyan professionals need to embrace science with things like strength and conditioning being introduced to better the results.
“It will take more than talent to prevail at the Kenya Open,” said Indiza, who was the oldest player at the Kenya Open at 57. Indiza noted that the local tour must be crafted to meet the Kenya Open standards, besides Kenya profesional being sponsored to high magnitude events outside the region.
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