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Golfer Jay Sandhu shines at Vet Lab, seals slot in Kenya Open championship
Jay Sandhu of Muthaiga Golf Club celebrates with his Trophy on during 48th NCBA Kenya Amateur Strokeplay Championship at Vet Lab Sports Club on August 3, 2025
Golfer Jay Sandhu on Sunday shot level par 72 in the final round of the 48th Kenya Amateur Stroke Play Championship, for a four-round total of two over par 290 at Vet Lab Sports Club to win and qualify for the 2026 Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship to be held at Muthaiga Golf Club.
The 44-year-old, who started his golfing career at Royal Nairobi as a junior before shifting to Muthaiga, booked his place in the DP World Tour event after beating Ndumberi’s Michael Karanga by one shot.
“It’s been a tough weekend, playing against such a strong field, and very challenging pin positions. But I’m glad everything has ended well,” Sandhu, who was knocked out of the Kenya Amateur Match Play Championship by Royal’s John Lejirmah a week ago at the quarter-final stage in Sigona, said.
He took home Sh130,000 plus 300 points towards the KAGC series Order of Merit, where he is now placed in sixth place with a total of 513 points.
Karanga, on the other hand, took home Sh78,000 plus 180 points for a total of 1584, just 436 points behind the leader John Lejirmah, who stays ahead with a total of 2020 points.
“My target now is to beat Lejirmah and retain the Order of Merit title for the third year running’’ said Karanga, who blamed the tough pin positions for not making a double in the “golf majors’’.
Lejirmah tied for fifth place with Adel Balala, Elvis Muigua and Daniel Kiragu on 12 over par 300 gross.
“Knowing how tough the pin positions were right from day one, I decided to focus on putting, which I must say is what earned me the victory. It feels great winning the stroke play and getting a chance to play in the Kenya Open and at my home course,’’ added Sandhu, who plans to play in some of the Kenya Amateur Golf Championship (KAGC) series.
Starting the day with a bogey, Sandhu managed to birdie the fourth and fifth, dropped two shots at the seventh and eighth, picked up birdies at the 10th and 13th and parred the rest.
On the other hand, his playing-mate Karanga had a tough final round where he dropped three shots at the front nine, and an awful seven at the par –four-10th, followed by another bogey at the 15th.
It was at the 17th where Karanga earned his first birdie of the day, which was followed by a closing one at the 18th for a 77 and three over par 291.
Meanwhile, Park Seoyon was in a class of his own at the par 72 Karen Country Club course on Friday. Seoyon carded a total of 47 points to walk away with the overall prize during the Nairobi Hospital Charity golf tournament in support of Children with Congenital Heart Diseases.
He won by two shots from the men's winner Daniel Cherono on 45 points. Sudhir Shah finished second in the men’s section on 44 points. The field of over 100 golfers included ladies who were led by C.N. Ribui on 41, just a point better than Diana Chepngeno.
Emerging as the Board member was Justice Philip Waki, who posted 34 points. Speaking after the event, Nairobi Hospital CEO Felix Osano emphasised the importance of continued support from partners in developing sustainable structures for equitable healthcare. “It is a privilege to have a high number of corporate partners on board for this tournament. The growth of this charity event over the years has opened up multiple opportunities to reach more communities’’ he said.
A record Sh11.1 million against a target of Sh10 million was raised during the event, which was supported by, among other corporates, Jubilee Insurance, AAR, and NCBA Bank.
