John Lejirma in action at the first round of the East Africa Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing Qualifying School (Q-School) tournament.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Kenya Railways’ elite amateur John Lejirma shot a round of 3-under par 68 to hold a one stroke lead after round one action of the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing Qualifying School (Q-School) tournament, at the par –71 Great Rift Valley Golf Resort in Naivasha, Kenya.

Lejirma started his round from the back nine, returning a score of one under par 35, through his first nine holes, courtesy of a birdie at the par-5, 14th. Back-to-back birdies at the par-4 first and second holes got his front nine charge off to a great start, before dropping a shot at the par-4 fifth, his only bogey of the day. He would wrap up his round with a birdie at the eighth, while holding par through the rest of the holes, to return a score of 3-under par, 68 giving him the clubhouse lead.

Isaiah Otuke tees for his first round action at the East Africa Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing Qualifying School (Q-School) tournament.

Speaking on his round Lejirma said, “This is a huge opportunity, to play in the Q-School tournament, especially as an amateur, it is a dream come true!”

“I arrived last night from Kisii, where I played a score of 4-under par, so I was charged up for this one. I just played in regulation, keeping the ball on the fairway and going from there, and it worked well.” He added.

Lejirma sits one stroke ahead of the pair of Muthaiga Golf Club’s Greg Snow and Vetlab Sports Club’s Isaiah Otuke, who returned scores of 2-under par, 69. Both players’ scores off a strong showing in the back nine after struggling with their opening 9 holes.

Otuke overcame early pressure from his playing group of Michael Karanga and Michael Kisia, who rallied to an early lead in the front nine, before both crumbling in the back nine, with consecutive double bogeys at the 13th and 14th holes.

Greg Snow held a score of par through his opening nine holes, off two birdies and two bogeys, before steadying through the back nine, off two birdies while holding par through the rest of the holes, to return a score of 2-under par, 69.

Greg Snow follows his tee shot at round one action of the East Africa Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing Qualifying School (Q-School) tournament

Speaking on his round, Otuke said, “Coming into this tournament, I lowered my expectations, I played a quick nine yesterday in preparation through the back nine. I missed a lot of birdies on the front nine, but I managed to get back onto regulation in the back nine.” He said.

On his part, Snow lauded the opportunity to play in Sunshine Tour Q-School tournament, “I want to thank the organizers and IMG Kenya for putting this together, it is a great initiative and will give us exposure, as East Africans playing against the best, hopefully I’ll make the top 10 to play in South Africa.”

“It is a great start, though I feel I left some shots out there, it was a bit tricky with the wind, swirling a lot. Going forward I just want to stick to my game plan, stay patient and give myself as many opportunities.” He added on his round.

Round two action starts at 7:30 AM with the players looking to make the CUT and play through Wednesday and Thursday for a share of the KES 1 million prize purse, and more importantly, the opportunity to play at the Sunshine Tour Final Stage Qualifier in Johannesburg, for the top ten finishers.

Alfred Nandwa follows his tee shot at the Muthaiga 10th during the 2025 Magical Kenya Open.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

A field of over 50 golfers is expected to take to the course on Monday coming week when the East Africa Swing of the Sunshine Development Tour tees off at the Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort with a Qualifying School (Q-School) event.

The Q-School will be a four-day event with a KES 1 million prize purse which will award players with Sunshine Tour cards for the 2025/26 season, with the top ten finishers at the Great Rift event earning invitations to play at the Sunshine Tour Final Stage Qualifier in Johannesburg, South Africa from the 8th to the 11th of April 2025.

Amongst the golfers registered to play at the Q-School includes the 2025 Magical Kenya Open top Kenyan finisher, Riz Charania, Muthaiga Golf Club’s Greg Snow, Nyali Golf and Country Club’s Daniel Nduva, the Kibugu brothers – Mutahi and Njoroge, 1998 Kenya Open runner-up Jacob Okello, Alfred Nandwa, Michael Karanga, Samuel Chenge, Mohit Mediratta, Mike Kisia, David Wakhu, and Erick Ooko.

From the region, the tournament has attracted the interest of Ugandan, Tanzanian, Burundian, and Rwandese golfers who will battle it out against their Kenyan compatriots for top honors. Among them Celestin Nsanzuwera, Byiringiro Jacques, Nsabimana Aloys, and Benjamin Mukisa from Rwanda; David Kamulindwa and Otile Ronald from Uganda; Nuru Mollel and Isaac Wanyeche from Tanzania; and Nkurunziza Salum from Burundi.

This follows this week’s announcement of a partnership between The Sunshine Tour and IMG Kenya for the launch of The Sunshine Development Tour – East African Swing, which will offer professional golfers and elite amateurs, both men and women, a chance to play regular competitive golf tournaments organized in line with Sunshine Tour standards. This Tour will include 10 to 15 events annually and offer Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, which are crucial for player advancement, and essential for Olympic Games qualifiers.

Qualification to play golf at the Olympic Games is based on OWGR, with the top 15 players in the world automatically earning a spot. Thereafter, players are eligible based on world rankings with a maximum of up to two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15.

As such, the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing offers Kenya, and her neighbours, a pathway to Olympic Games golf qualification that would have previously been out of reach owing to lack of enough tournaments offering OWGR points in the region.

The Q-School is a mandatory pre-requisite for earning Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points on the East Africa Swing. The top 50 finishers at the Q-School will share the Sh 1 million prize purse, with the overall winner banking Sh 180,220.

“Ordinarily Q-Schools don’t offer Prize money, but we made a decision at IMG Kenya to kick start the Tour with an incentive for the professional golfers,” said Peter Gacheru, IMG Kenya CEO when announcing details of their partnership with The Sunshine Tour.