Kenya’s youngest professional golfer in this year’s Magical Kenya Open, Njoroge Kibugu says he has matured enough and with good experience to perform better at Muthaiga Golf Club this week.
Kibugu, a son of veteran golfer Dan Kagwe and a young brother of another Kenyan pro Mutahi Kibugu, who will also be action starting Thursday, says a good performance will be a motivating factor for him to try and get two Tour cards.
In the 2022, Kibugu stunned Kenya’s golfing world by making the cut at the age of 18, and the only local player -- pro or amateur, to do so in that tournament.
“Despite performing well in my first attempt in 2022, I was not able to repeat that performance the following year where my brother Mutahi made the cut, and that drove me to eventually turn professionals and played last year in the open as a pro even though I did not manage to make the cut. This year, however, I have prepared well.
“In fact, soon after the 2024 Open, I played a number of events in South Africa that gave me confidence,’’ said Kibugu during an interview after his practise at Muthaiga yesterday.
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He says he will stick to his game plan to make sure he keeps the ball in play and sink as many birdies as possible, a plan which says enabled him to shoot 15 under par at Sigona during the Kenya Open pre-qualifying event sponsored by betting company 9Ubet which is also sponsoring play in the Open this week.
“Last year, I played about 10 events in South Africa after the Kenya Open and I have been practising literally every day because my plan this year is to try and play in two Tour Schools first in April during the Sunshine Tour School and later on in the year, I will also try to qualify in the Asian Tour School. This means looking for some support in terms of sponsorship, a reason why I want to play well this week,’’ said Kibugu.
“It will be great playing in the same tournament with my brother once again this weekend and I hope both of us will be staying in the tournament until Sunday,’’ said Kibugu, who will once again be in the company of his caddie/friend Bo Ciera, a past captain at Muthaiga, and one of the leading amateur golfers in the country.
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The two said the Muthaiga course this time round, was fairly easy one to score well if one stays on course.
“We believe we have a good chance of scoring well if we manage to keep the ball in play, though I know the greens are going to be pretty fast but this is something that we can handle’’ said Ciera.
The two spent a better part of the day yesterday at the practising green and later on at the chipping green.
“The confidence is there and I have that feeling this year I will play well’’ said Kibugu whose world ranking as an amateur before turning pro was 375.
He picked up interest in the game at the age for four while in Uganda where his father was based. The senior Kibugu served as a captain of the Uganda Golf Club for over 10 years. It was, however, when he returned home that he started practising seriously, then aged six years old, under the then Muthaiga pro Elisha Kasuku.
As a junior, Kibugu won many Junior Golf Foundation (JGF) events, though his game he says, started improving when he joined the national golf series (Kenya Amateur Golf Championship series), and also the number of events he played while in school in Cape Town, South Africa.
