I am in no rush to turn professional, says teen golfer Njoroge Kibugu
By Barry.Silah, March 8, 2022
Kenya’s teen golfing sensation Njoroge Kibugu is in no hurry to join the paid ranks after an impressive run at the just ended Magical Kenya Open-European Tour Championships held at the Muthaiga Golf Club.
The 18-year-old player who was named the tournament’s best amateur as he finished with a +2 score, made the comments yesterday during an interview on K24’s Jungu La Spoti show.
“Turning pro is not a priority for me now. I am thinking of College abroad, which I hope to join sometime in September. I know some people want me to go straight to the professional ranks but for me, it is still a process. And besides, I have my plans laid out, studies are very important so I am looking at pursuing Business Management hopefully in the USA,” stated the youngster who was accorded the Amateur Award plate on Sunday by President Uhuru Kenyatta at the Muthaiga Golf Club following his exploits.
Njoroge, who before the tournament had been in South Africa for three weeks for a couple of high profile tournaments, believes he is only getting started.
“I want to enjoy the moment so for now I cannot put pressure on myself with unrealistic targets. I know where my vision is and what it looks like. I believe I will be able to play at a higher level or Division One Championships in College. I also still want to go to the Challenge Tour and Q-School,” he added.
The handicap +4 player has applauded his new sponsor’s Vision 2030 who accorded him Sh 1 million on Saturday after securing a fourth-round entry.
“Much gratitude to Vision 2030 and Director Ken Mwige for their support. These guys have a good plan for golf in the country. At the same time, my thumbs up to the Junior Golf Foundation program under the Kenya Golf Union for setting the base for some of us,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Vision 2030 Board Director-General Ken Mwige has indicated much more Government support for Njoroge in his race to turn Pro in the future. “We have been looking at supporting sportsmen because there have been structural gaps with Athletes not benefiting. There was a missing link and that is where we came in. We are so proud of what Njoroge has done and he has set the pace. As a company, we might have come in late with him but he deserves all the plaudits he gets. Kenya is a global brand in sports and I can ask Corporates to continue coming in. We had a budget of Shs 1 million for those cutting and it is a good thing Njoroge picked it,” said Mwige.