Karanga chasing peak form ahead of Magical Kenya Open

Elite amateur golfer Michael Karanga is hard at work as he builds up for the Magical Kenya Open, a DP World Tour event, slated for Thursday 20 to Sunday 23 February at Muthaiga Golf Club.

A Kenya Amateur Golf Championship (KAGC) back-to-back champion, Karanga headlines a list of five amateurs readying to grace this year’s Open, hoping to change the narrative for Kenyan golfers in the four-day event.

Fresh from a stunning performance at the Africa Amateur Championship in South Africa’s Leopard Creek Country Club, where he finished eighth with a total score of 291, Karanga is in Rwanda, where he continues to sharpen his claws.

The Rwanda Open teed off on Wednesday 12 through to Saturday 15 February at the Kigali Golf Resort and Villas.

The event has drawn over 100 professional golfers and 50 elite amateurs, all competing for a Ksh6.457 million ($50,000) prize purse. 

In South Africa, he was in the top three after the first three rounds with scores of 68, 70, and 74, but a tough final round of 79 saw him drop a few places on the leaderboard. Bryan Newman of South Africa won the event after cruising to a two-shot victory over Zimbabwe’s Keegan Shutt.

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“South Africa was a great experience. It was not an easy tournament. I almost brought home that trophy, but luck was not on my side. However, it was a valuable learning experience,” Karanga told Golf Score before heading out to Rwanda.

Having staged a dominant show for Team Kenya at the Kigali course during the 2024 Africa Region IV Golf Championship, leading them to victory for a third consecutive title, the Kiambu Golf Course-based is confident.

“I played very good golf last year in Kigali. It’s one of my favorite courses, and I’m looking forward to better results this weekend,” Karanga, who posted rounds of 70, 76, 64, and 66 to finish first with a total score of 276 (-12) in the Rwandese capital in October last year, said.

He continued, “Playing back-to-back tournaments keeps me in the right mindset for the Magical Kenya Open. I don’t want to just sit and wait for the event. I want to be in peak form, and these competitions will help me get there.”