Another dismal performance at the Magical Kenya Open tourney

The just ended Magical Kenya Open was a disastrous outing for Kenyan professionals after a spectacular collapse by all eight local representatives at home in Muthaiga Golf Club.

Their performance was made more telling by the fact that most amateurs performed much better, especially the youthful Njoroge Kibugu who went beyond round three and into the money bracket.

Even with money and kitting from sponsors like Absa, Kenya Vision 2030 and Betika, results were not as impressive even as players complained of inadequate preparations.

David Wakhu of Golf Park Club and a senior professional for Kenya was hampered by injury but explained that the tournament had given the local players great insight. 

“My injury came at a bad time as it was during the time I was preparing for this tournament. However, it cannot be an excuse at all. We needed to do more in our home course. 

Play overall

For me, the start in the tee-box was the difficult part and this was what affected my play overall,” said the 38-year-old player who has gone ahead to applaud youngster Kibugu for his feat stating that he was one for the future.

Meanwhile, Dismas Indiza who had high hopes from word go has blamed his putting which cost him dear. 

“I felt I played well but a couple of bogeys and double bogeys ruined everything afterwards. 

My putting was also not as good and most of my tee-shots were going off. This made my game tight so yes I am very unhappy about my tournament,” said the Mumias Golf Club player. 

The 53-year-old veteran has always been seen as the big game player especially after his exploits in the domestic front especially in tournaments like Safari Tour and Savannah Classic.

He has also complained that not enough sponsors are coming through to support players especially in preparations.

 “For some of us, it would help a great deal if we got sponsorship so that we could have many tournaments to prepare. It is important for sponsors to understand the long-term goals and that is what some of us are asking for.

It has been a poor performance for the senior or professional players, but it is all down to lacking tournaments out there which will help them develop and all these need money.”

Eric Ooko of Golf Park echoes Indiza’s sentiments urging corporates to come in and support local players given the sport is expensive. “We need to travel a lot, and this calls for money. 

There is a need for high level tournaments outside the country to help us make the cut. As for me, I think I was not badly off save for maybe my putting off the green which I believe with time we can fix. At the same time, staying consistent is important in such tournaments and not getting overawed by home presence.

We had a good Safari Tour series, but this was a totally different ballgame with some top players coming in. I believe I have learnt something.

I want, however, to thank the government for coming to sponsor the tournament and companies like ABSA and Betika plus my friends Edenbridge Capital for their input and I would urge more sponsors to come on board,” said the 32-year-old former caddie.

The Great Valley Lodge Golf Club player Jastas Madoya on his part asked the Safari Tour organisers in the future to consider making their courses more challenging to add spice just like in this year’s Kenya Open. 

“All players like a challenge and it is only unfortunate that no professional from Kenya made the cut and that could be down to greater competition from outsiders. However, for me, this course looked different this time round as opposed to what we are accustomed to. Indeed, during the Kenya Open qualifiers, the course was not like in this tournament.

That is what it should be like, and we welcome the alterations from Muthaiga Golf Club. I want to ask sponsors to consider coming early for players so that their preparations are good enough. It is also important for us local players to get more exposure outside the country.

For me, it was difficult to adapt with the pace of the green and also, I had difficulty with my putting plus I made a couple of bogeys which ruined my chances. However, I look forward to another tournament next year, “he said.

Professional players like Samuel Ngige and South Africa-based Daniel Nduva were eliminated in round one. This is partly due to a poor start especially on the early holes and Edwin Mudanyi believes that players’ mentality can be affected as much during such episodes.

“Of course, it is not a good sign at home when you go out like that, but this is sport and at times it can be brutal. However, we must move on regardless and plan. This was an important tournament for us, and I believe under the circumstances much can be said on the negative.

For me, I will be just grateful I had an opportunity to play even though I came in late. It was a great experience and I naturally look ahead for a better run next year,” said the 27-year-old Vet Lab Golf Club player.

Zimbabwean Robson Chinhoi based in Kenya rued his approach that saw him get eliminated in Round Two. The 31-year-old reigning Safari Tour Champion believes the competition was tight but still there were positives.

“This week I have learnt that mental preparedness and physical readiness for such tournaments is very important. I believe I need to work on my game plan but importantly work on my focus because any mild distraction affects me.

However, I cannot beat myself up because my performance was not bad at all. I believe I played well and even I was averaging good numbers out there. I just have to trust the process and work to be better.

I sincerely want to thank Kenyans for treating me like family and the sponsors that came through for me in this tournament. Now it is onward to South Africa to try and get some tournaments before returning to Kenya, “said the bubbly Harare born player.

His Ugandan counterpart Ronald Rugumayo on his part stated: “Being here at the Kenya Open alone and getting the invite is an achievement. It is my first time here and I must say I am happy with my debut performance. It is a high-level competition, and it was nice to be around some top-level players.

My two rounds were different, especially towards the end, but my recovery was great because I improved on day three by scoring seven shots. Certainly, at this level concentration is key and it is something I must work on apart from making some very obvious mistakes.

I look forward to coming next year but for now I plan for four events under Safari Tour in April starting with the Entebbe Open, Kitande Open, Serena Open and Uganda Open so as to polish my game,”said the 29-year-old based at the Uganda Golf Club.