Celestine Nsanzuwera with the trophy.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Kigali Golf Resort & Villa’s Celestin Nsanzuwera won the inaugural Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing Qualifying School (Q-School) tournament, played at the par 71 Great Rift Valley Golf Resort. Click this link https://a.meridianbet.ke/c/C7pYjz to start gaming and stand a chance of winning big with Meridianbet.

Celestin returned a round-leading score of 2-under par, 69 to take his overall score after four rounds to 4-under par 280, four strokes ahead of the overnight leader, Royal Nairobi Golf Club’s John Lejirma who finished on a gross score of par, 284. The trio of Dismas Indiza, Greg Snow, and Samuel Njoroge, finished T3, with a score of 4-over par 288. 

Celestin started the day trailing Lejirma by four shots, the two playing off the same flight, joined by Dismas Indiza. The leading duo started steadily off the first, with scores of par through the opening two holes. Celestin would drop his first shot at the third, his first of two in the round. 

He would go on to birdie the par-4 fifth, to turn on a score of par, 35, with Lejirma having bogeyed three holes to relinquish the lead. 

Celestin would turn on the after burners in the back 9, after bogeying the par-4 11th, immediately recovering on the 12th with a birdie, with further birdies at par-5 14th and par-4 16th, at this point, he was tied with Lejirma at 3-under par. Lejirma would drop three shots in the closing two holes, bogeying the par-5 17th and double bogeying the par-4 18th, with Celestin holding par, to claim the win.

Celestine Nsanzuwera gets a beer sprayed by his older sibling Alloys Nsabimana shortly after Celestine won the tour.

Speaking on his round Celestin said, “I am so excited for this win, as mentioned after round three, I was going to go for the win, I want to thank God, the players I played with, they were good players, but today was my day.” 

“I started slowly, hacking the ball but kept my cool, after the bogey at the 11th and birdie at the 12th, I started telling myself that it was possible and just kept my head down from there. Playing in the Q-School is a great opportunity for me, it will be my first time playing in South Africa and the chance to get a Sunshine Tour card is huge. I want to thank the organizers for this.” 

On his part, Lejirma said, “It was a tough day out there, I think I was fatigued at some point, but that is the game of golf. It was frustrating, especially when the strongest part of my game, which is my putting did not stick today.” 

“Getting the opportunity to test my game against the best has been a great experience and playing in the Sunshine tour is a dream come true. At the final Q-School tournament, I want to keep the momentum going and play well, showcase our talents, and represent our country.” 

On turning pro, Lejirma said, “I am thinking of turning professional very soon, especially with more opportunities to play, it is just a matter of time.”

“Finally, I want to thank the sponsors and organizers for putting this tournament together, on behalf of all the amateurs who received an invite,” he added.

Kenya’s top ten golfers to take part in the Sunshine tour in South Africa next week.

Celestin Nsanzuwera takes home Sh180,220 as prize money with Lejirma taking home Sh 108,130 as the trio of Indiza, Snow and Chege bagging Sh 56,470, each.

There was a play-off at the 18th hole to decide the last two players that will play in the final Sunshine Q-School tournament after Isaiah Otuke, Jastas Madoya, and Mike Kisia finished T9. Mike Kisia would place his second shot 5 feet from the pin, with two putts to claim 9th place, home pro Jastas Madoya settled for 10th off a bogey, with Otuke double bogeying.  

Speaking on his playoff win, Mike Kisia said, “I have been here before, I failed to make the Kenya Open after losing a playoff, so I told myself, not again. I simply kept the ball in regulation and the rest fell into place.” 

“I can’t describe this feeling, but I want to feel it every time I play, it will be my first time playing in South Africa and I look forward to it very much. I hope to improve my game as the competition there is high.” 

The ten will now go to play at the Sunshine Tour Final Stage Qualifier, set for April 8 to 11 in Johannesburg, South Africa.  

The entire field earned playing cards to the East Africa Swing events for the year, earning them valuable Sunshine Development tour points and Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points on the East Africa Swing. 

Royal Nairobi Golf Club’s, John Lejirma, follows his fairway shot on the third round of the Sunshine Development Tour Qualifying School at the Great Rift Valley Lodge.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Royal Nairobi Golf Club’s elite amateur, John Lejirma, shot a round of 67 on round three of the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing Qualifying School (Q-School) tournament for 4-under par on the day, and 6-under par 207 for the tournament. Click this link https://a.meridianbet.ke/c/C7pYjz to start gaming and stand a chance of winning big with Meridianbet.

His round was the joint lowest of the tournament at the par 71 Great Rift Valley Golf Resort, seeing him return to the summit with a four-shot lead going into the final round. 

Lejirma who had previously held the tournament’s lead after round one, started the day in second, one shot behind the lead. He would steadily build up through the round, shooting a 1-under par, front nine score, off three birdies and two bogeys. At this point, he had taken over the lead from Njoroge who had a torrid time through the same holes, returning a score of 8-over par. 

At the back nine, Lejirma was blemish-free, shooting three birdies, at the par-4 13th, par-5 14th, and at the par-4 18th a hole he bogeyed at in the last round. 

Speaking on his round, Lejirma said, “Today was a good day, especially after yesterday which was a bit of a grind. Today I felt more in control of my game, I stuck to my strategy, made better decisions and the putts decided to fall.”

Kakamega Golf Club’s, Dismas Indiza, follows the flight of his shot on the third round of the Sunshine Development Tour Qualifying School at the Great Rift Valley Lodge.

“Coming in tomorrow, I will approach it positively and hopefully it will pay off, I need to keep the momentum going, nothing is guaranteed as I am playing against a solid field. I need to focus on strategy and not place any pressure on myself.” He added. 

Kigali Golf Resort & Villa’s Celestin Nsanzuwera, also shot a round-leading score of 4-under par, 67 to see him move up four places into second place on an overall score of 2-under par, 211.  

Celestin’s had an almost similar round to Lejirma’s, shooting a score of 1-under par through the front nine courtesy of three birdies and two bogeys, the bogeys coming at the same holes as Lejirma’s, at two par-4s the fourth and seventh. 

Celestin would go on to challenge for the lead, with triple birdies in the opening holes on the back nine, with a further birdie at the 14th, he would then drop a shot at the par-5 17th, while holding par through the rest of the holes. 

Speaking after his round, Celestin said, “My game plan coming into this round was to play better which I did, my shots stuck, and my putting was my strongest weapon in this round.” 

“Going into tomorrow, I won’t change much in terms of my strategy, I hope to go on and win, but if I don’t I hope to keep my current position. Winning this tournament would be a great opportunity for me and my country to be placed on the golf map. Yes, there is pressure, but nothing I can’t handle,” he added.

Muthaiga Golf Club’s, Greg Snow, follows his fairway shot on the third round of the Sunshine Development Tour Qualifying School at the Great Rift Valley Lodge.

Kakamega Golf Club’s Dismas Indiza’s steady rise on the leaderboard continued in round three, moving up five places, to finish the round T3, after returning a score of 2-under par, 69 to take his total tally to 2-over par, 215. 

Indiza barely put a foot wrong through the round, recording two bogies at the par-4 9th and par-3 12th. Other big movers on the day included Golf Park’s David Wakhu, who moved up 10 places to 18th, and Mutahi Kibugu who finished in 19th, 14 places better than he finished yesterday.  

Speaking on his round, Indiza said “I enjoyed my round today, I played alongside some great players who challenged me to play well. I, however, missed a short putt on the 9th but overall, I am happy.” 

“You can never be too sure with the sport of golf, depending on how the pin positions are placed, I’ll however look to give it the best I have.” He added. 

Mutahi’s brother Njoroge didn’t have the same fate, as he dropped 8 places to finish the round and placed in T9 on a score of 8-over par, 221 for the event. 

The last round of action will tee off at 7:30 AM, off both tees, with the leading group made up of Dismas Indiza, Celestin Nsanzuwera, and John Lejirma teeing off at 8:33 AM off the first tee. 

The overall winner of the tournament will walk away with KES 180,000, from the total purse of KES 1 million, with the top 10 receiving invites to play at the Sunshine Tour Final Stage Qualifier, set for 8th to the 11th of April 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa.