Lejirmah the man to beat in Kenya Amateur Golf series grand finale
John Lejirmah during a past edition of the Africa Region Four Golf Championship in Addis Ababa.
What you need to know:
- Lejirmah is in the lead in the KAGC Series Order of Merit with 2,130 points after 19 events.
- The Nyali Open has also attracted lady golfers, including top-rated Mercy Nyanchama.
Leading amateur John Lejirmah is the man to beat in a star-studded field of 119 in the Nyali Open, the grand finale of the 2025 Kenya Amateur Golf Championship (KAGC) series at Nyali Golf and Country Club, Mombasa.
The red-hot Lejirma is fresh from beating Sigona’s 15-year-old rising talent Yuvraj Rajput by three shots to win the Uhuru Shield at Royal Nairobi Golf Club last Sunday.
Despite playing at home, Lejirmah posted a decidedly low score due to the tough conditions at the 119-year-old course.
“I bogeyed the 18th twice during the Uhuru Shield and dropped many shots in the closing round,’’ said Lejirmah, who carded three rounds total of two over par 218.
This was one of the few events he won on over par scoring.
Lejirmah is in the lead in the KAGC Series Order of Merit with 2,130 points after 19 events, of which he has won nine.
“I will obviously put up a fight this weekend at Nyali as it will be very nice winning the grand finale of the season plus the Order of Merit title,’’ said Lejirmah on Thursday.
Golfer of the Year title
The Nyali course is one of the toughest in the country. Players have to watch out for the strong winds and quick greens.
Lejirmah fired one under par 212, to beat Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club’s Michael Karanga by seven shots in last year’s Nyala Open.
However, Karanga retained the KAGC series Golfer of the Year title.
During the Uhuru Shield last weekend, Karanga posted a poor 79 in the opening round. He then missed the second round after being held by a traffic jam along Kiambu Road.
He is, however, likely to put up a brave fight this weekend as he still has a remote chance of retaining the KAGC series title.
Karanga has 1,887 points.
Others chasing the Nyali Open title plus a share of the Sh580,000 prize fund are Windsor-based Elvis Muigua, ranked third in the series, Sammy Mulama of Golf Park, former Kenya Amateur Stroke Play champion William Odek of Nyali, and Railway’s Isaac Makokha.
The Nyali Open has also attracted lady golfers, including top-rated Mercy Nyanchama, who last month was part of a team that won the East and Central All Africa Ladies Challenge at the Great Rift Golf Resort in Naivasha.
Many entrants played a practice round on Wednesday and the club-nite on Thursday to fine-tune for the weekend. Action begins at 7.30am today
