Nyali Golf and Country Club player Adel Balala, who is one of the leading golfers in the country, on Saturday showed fans why he is an expert in sudden-death play-offs.
On March 10, Balala, a former Kenya Amateur Stroke Play Championship and a winner of over 12 Kenya Amateur Golf Championship (KAGC) series, beat home player Neer Chandaria in the first hole of a play off, to win the Muthaiga Open, his first KAGC title this year.
During the 12th edition of Kabete Open golf tournament staged at Vet Lab Sports Club on July 21, Balala, who is currently ranked 356th in the World, stunned defending champion and the best ranked amateur golfer in Kenya, Michael Karanga, winning by a birdie in a five-hole play-off witnessed by a big crowd that included Adel’s wife Mawada Balala, and father Taufiq Balala. In the end, he claimed the Kabete Open title.
And in a brief interview, 26-year-old Balala who graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics in 2019 from the University of Brighton, and whose best World Amateur Golf Raking has been 194, said he is targeting the 2024 Kenya Amateur Open Stroke Play Championship being hosted by his home Club Nyali from August 1 to 4.
“That’s one event that I would like to win this year as it will assure me of a place in next year’s Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship,’’ Balala said. He played for the national senior golf team for the first time during the 2011 East Africa Challenge Cup in Bujumbura, Burundi, at the age of 13 years.
Starting the final round of the Kabete Open on Sunday, Balala who was well ahead of the field of 33 players who had survived the second round cut, was expected to have an easy triumph, having fired two rounds of two under par 70 each.
However the final round proved to be a thorny for him as he picked three bogeys with only one birdie at the front nine.
At the back nine, Balala picked up three single bogeys before a taking double at the 14th. He however recovered a shot at the 15th followed it with two back to back pars up to 18th hole where he only need a par or the worse, a bogey.
He however picked a double bogey six to finish the round on eight over par 80 and a total of 220 same as Michael Karanga who was already seating the club house also with a four over par total of 220, after a one under par 71, having rolled in four birdies in the last five holes, thus forcing the play off with Balala where in the first three holes of play off the two tied.
Adel Balala follows his chip from 18th hole fairway during Kabete Open Amateur Competition on July 21, 2024 at Vet Lab Sports Club.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
They then went for a sudden death play off at the 18th hole where for a start they tied with a par, but in the second play off, Balala fired in a five-footer putt for a birdie while Karanga missed his by a foot, for Balala to walk away with the cash prize of Sh92,480 plus 76 points towards the KAGC Series Order of Merit, while Karanga earned Sh55,520 and 44 points for finishing second.
“I am very excited to have won this event though, having dropped many shots today, I was not very sure of taking the Kabete Open title,’’ Balala, who has only featured in four events in the series out of the 13 tournaments played due towork commitments, said.
“My physical condition has not been excellent though I am happy all the same winning this event. I am getting back to my usual form and my target now is the Kenya Amateur Stroke Play Championship at my home course Nyali in two weeks time’’ added Balala.
On the other hand, the Betika sponsored Karanga said he did not expect to retain the Kabete Open trophy, having started the last round nine shots behind the leader.
“Anything can happen in golf, and as they say, its not over until it is over. I did not believe Balala would finish with four over par, as he started the final round with a four under’’ said Karanga who is also planning to travel to Mombasa for the Coast Open at the Mombasa Golf Club where he is the defending champion, before moving to Nyali next weekend, for the Kenya Amateur Stroke Play Championship where he will also be defending.
It was also a tough day for Ugandan Joseph Cwinyaai who had led in round one, but played a birdie-less round of 83, that included three double bogeys and five single bogeys, to drop from second place to third place with nine over par 225.
This year the Kabete Open whose first edition in 2012 was won by home player Nelson Simwa now a professional, was sponsored by NCBA Bank which is the title sponsor of all the 28 KAGC series events this year.
