Karanga retains Kenya Amateur Golf Championship series title
Michael Karanga holds the Kiambu Open Trophy at Kiambu Golf Club on November 17, 2024.
What you need to know:
- Despite missing birdies at the 16th and 18th and bogeying the 17th, he finished with a steady level-par 71. “I knew I had an eight-shot advantage, so I was not worried much about the other players chasing me,” added Karanga, who had posted a superb five-under-par 67 in the first round on Friday, before Saturday’s play was rained off.
- Vipingo-based Naomi Wafula, who began the final day strong with three birdies on the front nine, stumbled with a double bogey six at the 10th.
Home player Michael Karanga Sunday retained his Kenya Amateur Golf Championship (KAGC) series title with two events to go, and secured a spot in the 2025 Magical Kenya Open.
Karanga excelled during Sunday's second and final round of the NCBA Kiambu Open golf tournament at the par-72 Kiambu Golf Club course, triumphing over his arch-rival John Lejirmah from Railway, and defending champion Naomi Wafula by a commanding margin of eight shots
Karanga, who became the inaugural winner of the Kiambu Open in 2022, shot a level-par 72 in the last round, ending with a five-under-par 139 gross. This victory earned him Sh115,600 along with 90 points, including a 30-point bonus.
“I am very happy winning here with an under-par score. I just wanted to qualify for the Magical Kenya Open on my own right,” said Karanga, who currently tops the KAGC series with 776 points against Lejirmah’s 646.
He is poised to be crowned Kenya’s top amateur golfer during the season's grand finale at the Nyali Open at Nyali Golf and Country Club in Mombasa next month.
In Sunday’s round, which attracted a large crowd of Kiambu Golf Club members, Karanga started with two early bogeys at the second and fifth holes. However, he recovered a shot at the ninth and birdied the 11th and 12th holes.
Despite missing birdies at the 16th and 18th and bogeying the 17th, he finished with a steady level-par 71. “I knew I had an eight-shot advantage, so I was not worried much about the other players chasing me,” added Karanga, who had posted a superb five-under-par 67 in the first round on Friday, before Saturday’s play was rained off.
Vipingo-based Naomi Wafula, who began the final day strong with three birdies on the front nine, stumbled with a double bogey six at the 10th.
However, she maintained a bogey-free back nine, adding a birdie on the home green for a two-under-par 70, tying with Lejirmah, who carded a level-par 72, both finishing on 147.
Rwanda’s Alain Niyonkuru claimed fourth place with a total of 148, just one shot ahead of Kiambu players Joyce Wanjiru and Steve Kiaro. The KAGC series action now shifts to Royal Nairobi Golf Club for the Uhuru Shield from November 29 to December 1, 2024, before moving to Nyali on December 13-15.
Unfavourably rain weather condition forced the cancellation of the second round on Saturday. During Friday’s opening round, Karanga had fired a round of five under par 67, a round that included six birdies and only one bogey, to lead by five shots from Kigali Golf Resort and Villas Club Jacques Byiringiro and the newly crowned Golf Park Open champion Josphat Rono.
The two had both fired level par 72. Rono made a birdie at the front nine and dropped a shot at the back nine’s 15th hole, while Rwandan golfer Jacques birdied three holes.
