Published on March 25, 2025 by Agencies for Kenya Online News
Last Updated on 1 year by Agencies for Kenya Online News
Sensational 12-year-old Kanana Muthomi was exceptional in the first NCBA Inter schools Golf Tournament after returning a score of two under par 70 at the Windsor Golf and Country Club.
Playing for the Home Schooling team, Kanana teamed up with Jeremie Maina, Aahill Jivanjee and Jeff Kivi to win the 11-14 years category. With the best three scoring for the team in each round, Kanana was the star of the day. She was cautious in the first nine, opening with level par in the first five holes, then picked a birdie in hole 15, but that was wiped out by a bogey in hole 16. She then played level par in hole 17 and 18 for a score of 36.
In the second nine, she opened with a birdie in the first hole, played level par in the second hole and picked an eagle in the third hole. Another birdie at hole five and only two bogeys gave her a score of 34 for 70 in total.
“First nine I had like a really slow start, I was trying to play safe then I realized it was not working, so in the second nine I decided to be more aggressive and it worked,” said Kanana.
Despite her good scores, she says it wasn’t easy out there.
“It was quite tough, the greens weren’t in great condition and I had a lot of birdie putts, and a lot of them leapt out,” she explained.
Her team mate Jeff Kivi played 77, 38 in the first nine and 39 in the second nine.
“The course was playing well, I just made a few mistakes in the putting, but that’s normal. In the first nine, I made a lot of mistakes with my second shots approaching the green, I had a hard time doing those. but on the second nine, I tried to improve on them,’ said Kivi.
Home schooling won the 11-14 years category with 232 points followed by Rosslyn Academy on 241 and Kenton College on 243 points.
The 15-18 years category was again won by home schooling on 245 points, followed by Braeburn Garden Estate on 263 points and Peponi school with 267.
The third category, the ten years and under, St.Ruth school carried the day with 127 points, only three ahead of second placed MLC Schools. Kenton College finished 3rd.
New Junior Golf Foundation president said the tournament has grown from the last edition.
“This year we have recorded growth in terms of the schools that have participated from 19 schools to 20 schools and in the number of participants from 135 to 151. It is our desire that we grow the numbers every year and ultimately have these type of competitions throughout the year,” he said. He added that “ Golf is good as a sport because of the obvious benefits it has from a health and wellness point of view. But it is also a game of life that teaches us how to handle success or failure and how to relate with others. It is a game that can be played into your old age. Our target is to have some of our junior players participate at the PGA events or even the 2027 Olympics and so the sky is the limit for those who want to play at the highest level.”
