Njoroge Kibugu of Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club held his nerve to clinch the Nyali leg of the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing, after a tense final round at the Nyali Golf & Country Club in Mombasa. Click this link https://a.meridianbet.ke/c/C7pYjz to start gaming and stand a chance of winning big with Meridianbet.
Kibugu posted a final-round score of 1-over-par 72 to close the 54-hole tournament on a total of 2-over-par 215 (75, 68, 72), edging out Rwanda’s Celestin Nsazuwera and home favorite Daniel Nduva, who tied for second at 3-over-par 216.
Playing alongside Greg Snow, Kibugu started positively with a birdie on the opening hole but dropped a shot on the 3rd. He bounced back with another birdie at the 5th but slipped with back-to-back bogeys on the 7th and 8th to make the turn at 37.
On the back nine, he stumbled early with bogeys at the 10th and 12th, then rallied with birdies on the 14th and 15th. Another dropped shot on 16 was erased by a closing birdie on the par-5 17th, sealing a well-earned victory. The 22-year-old’s performance earned him KES 400,000, the winner’s share of the KES 2 million prize purse.
“It feels good to win for the second time in this tour and in the fashion I did. I am over the moon about it,” said Kibugu. “Everything today was emotion — happy, angry, sad. Towards the end my caddie gave me a lot of motivation. From the 10th, my swing wasn’t great today. I was battling to get the holes right. It’s interesting waiting to find out if you’re going to be the winner or not. I feel like I did enough to win, but I was prepared for any eventuality nonetheless,” Kibugu said after lifting the trophy, becoming the first player to win the tour twice.
Home player Daniel Nduva played the crowd favorite with the day’s second-best round – a composed 1-under-par 70. He opened with birdies on the 1st and 5th, neutralized by bogeys on the 4th and 7th. On the return nine, he added birdies at the 11th, 13th, and 15th, dropping shots on the 12th and 17th.
“I am happy with my performance. I got off to a good start, a birdie on the first hole, and after five holes I was under par. I made some good birdies on the 11th, 13th and 15th which got me back into the lead, but coming down the stretch I made a silly mistake on 17 that cost me a bogey and first place. But all in all, I had a good week and I’m looking forward to Diani,” said Nduva, who finished runner-up at his home course.
Rwanda’s Celestin Nsazuwera, who entered the final round tied for the lead, played a steady front nine with a single bogey on the 6th. The Kigali Golf Resort professional dropped two shots on the 12th, but briefly rekindled hope with a birdie at the 17th. A closing bogey on the18th saw him fall just short of a playoff.
“The position I got wasn’t what I expected, but I take it. I got disappointed that I made some mistakes on some holes which cost me, especially hole 12 where I double bogeyed, and the last one where I made some wrong decisions. From the 18th tee, I thought I was one shot behind, which I wasn’t, so I aggressively went for birdie, but it wasn’t necessary. I overshot and that cost me.” said Nsazuwera, who now has two top three finishes on the East Africa Swing.
Both Nsazuwera and Nduva took home KES 179,000 each for their exploits.
Tied for fourth on 5-over-par 218 were Nigeria’s Olapade Sunday and David Wakhu of Golf Park. Olapade overcame a tough front nine with bogeys on the 2nd, 4th, and 5th, but came alive on the back nine with birdies at the 11th, 13th, 16th, and 17th, dropping just one more shot on the par-4 14th.
Round two co-leader Wakhu’s final round featured a birdie on the 9th, but a bogey on the 4th and a costly double bogey on the 7th derailed his front nine. Another double bogey on the 12th and bogeys on 16 and 18 proved too much to overcome, despite a birdie on the 15th.
Tied for sixth on 8-over-par 221 were Samuel Njoroge of Kenya Railway Golf Club (73, 76, 72) and amateur Adel Balala (76, 71, 74), the highest-placed amateur of the tournament.
The event featured the top 30 players and ties from the 70-player starting field, with KES 2 million in prize money and Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points on offer.
The Nyali event was proudly sponsored by Kenya Breweries through its premium spirit’s brand Johnnie Walker brand, Magical Kenya (Kenya Tourism Board) and other partners.
The Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing now moves to the South Coast for the fourth leg, scheduled for August 9–11 at Diamonds Leisure Beach & Golf Resort, as the race for the Order of Merit intensifies.
