John Lejirma will be chasing back to back Kenya Amateur Golf Championships (KAGC) titles when Kabete Open tees of at the Vet Lab golfer club this Friday.
The Kenya Railways golfer defeated Sammy Mulama over the weekend to win the Nyanza Open will be up for another title against Kabete Open defending champion Adel Balala in the 54-hole tournament ahead of All Africa Championships in Cairo, Egypt next week.
“I will be heading to the Kabete Open shoulder high after winning the Nyanza Open. I want to enjoy the championships as this will also be good for me in gaining skills ahead of the All Africa Championships,” said Lejirma.
Popularly referred to as Hippo Pot, Lejirma beat Mulama in play-offs after the tied on seven over par 147 in the 36-hole tournament, then they were subjected to a play-off in holes 1, 3 and 5 with the rule that the winner in hole one will become the champion.
It was easy for Lejirma who won in the first hole when he fired a par while Mulama managed a bogey to relinquish the title.
“It was a tough battle to victory but I managed to hold on to it until the last minute. Winning against my able opponent was not easy,” said Lejirma.
Kenya Golf Union (KGU) named Lejirma, Balala, Dennis Maara of Limuru, and Michael Karanga of Kiambu to represent the country in Cairo where Maara is the captain.
According to the draw released on Wednesday morning, Lejirma will be up against Balala and Edwin Kiarie in the 10th tee at 12:50pm.
Balala will be defending the title he won last year when he fired two under par 214 to claim the title in the 54-hole tournament.
He sank two under par 70, level par in the second round and two under the last round to claim the title to beat Michael Karanga from Kiambu with four shots to second position with two over par 218 before Royal’s Bo Ciera completing the podium with +9 223.