Junior players shine at the inaugural NCBA Golf Tour Tournament

The inaugural NCBA - U. S. Kids Golf - Nairobi Local Tour teed-off at the Thika Sports Club last weekend with 121 budding golfers taking part. The young golfers aged between 5 to18 years competed in several categories in the tournament that is organized by the Junior Golf Foundation, US Kids Golf and supported by NCBA Bank.

The highlight of the day came when Kristen Maina hit a hole-in-one on the fourth hole to cap-off a day filled with a massive display of junior golfing talent. Ishan Samani starred in the15-18 year-old Boys category after carding 93 points, one more than Hansil Tank. Antonia Mbuthia topped the Girls category with 99 points.

In the 13-14 years category, Shashwat Harish scored 81 points to emerge top in the Boys category, while Audrey Gachora’s 87 points earned her the top spot in the Girls category. Meanwhile, Andrew Gathere topped the 12-year-olds category for boys with 79 points, while Marya Nyambura was the girl’s category champion having scored 93 points.

Mwathi Gicheru was the star among the 11-year-old boys with 71 points, while Shuhan Peng starred in 10-year-old boys having scored 46 points. At the same time, Guanzhe Wang topped the 9-year-old boys category while Kanana Muthomi led the 9-10 year-old girls category.

In other results, Jeff Kibe, Ivan Kimutai and Trevu Mungai topped the 8, 7 and 6 year boys categories respectively, while Anna Mengi led in the Girls under 8 years category. This was the first junior tournament being organized under the new NCBA sponsored U. S. Kids Golf – Nairobi Local Tour that is set to run until January 2023.

Speaking during the tournament, NCBA Group Managing Director John Gachora said that the bank’s support for the tournament is aimed at supporting the development of the sport in the country.

“We are delighted to have supported this tournament which we believe will go a long way in ensuring that young talents in golf are nurtured at an early age and through such platforms, evolve to become future stars of the game. From the great display of young talent that we have seen here today, it is safe to say that the future of golf in the country is very bright and we shall continue to work hand in hand with our partners to improve the game across the country as that is our ultimate aim,” he said.

As part of its support for junior golf in the country, NCBA has incorporated junior tournaments in its NCBA Golf Series. So far, the 2022 NCBA Golf Series has featured two junior tournaments with the first event having been held in Serena, Uganda, and the Karen Country Club. The third junior competition will be held on the 15th and 16th of December at Limuru Golf and Country Club.