By ERICK OCHIENG’

South Africa’s Hennie Duplessis played four rounds of 70 each to score 280 gross to emerge champion of the three-day  Kenya Junior  Stroke Play championship  that ended at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi on Thursday evening.

Duplessis, ranked second in the South Africa’s Junior Order of Merit, said he was glad to win his first ever tournament outside his country.

“It feels great to win in a tournament like this especially outside my country. The  greens at Muthaiga are well kept and  aided my putting. I am happy with the scores but still feels I would have played better in the final round,” said Duplessis. Second overall and Division A winner was Nyali’s Daniel Nduva  who was 17 shots behind Duplessis’ on 297 gross. Nduva, who  won the  2013 Coast Open, a Golfer Of The Year (GOTY) event, had rounds of 68, 72,79 and 78.

He said: “The competition Duplessis has offered is good for my growth as South Africa golf standards are higher than ours.”

Division B for the 13-15 year olds was won by Kenyan international Adel Balala with 310 gross after rounds of  82, 77, 78 and 73.The win  saw Balala lift the Farrar trophy donated by the family of the Junior Golf Foundation coach Charles Farrar.

Nice opportunity

This win also earns Balala an opportunity to play the British Junior Open next year and two tickets to watch The Open Tournament, one of the golf major.

The U-12  Division was won by Mutahi Kibugu on 337 gross. Categories’ runners-up were Wambugu Ikinu  for the U-12 with 386 gross and Kush Medirata in the  13-15 years with 310 gross.

Meanwhile, the team that will represent Kenya at the Triangular Tournament in Zimbabwe was  named by the Junior Golf Foundation (JGF) chairman Ashwin Gidoomal.

The team has Daniel Nduva, Taheer Mahamm, Mathew Wahome, Kush Medirata, Adel Balala and John Mburu.They will play against top juniors from Namibia and Zimbabwe.

They leave for Zimbabwe via Livingstone, Zambia, on August 18. Speaking while naming the team Gidoomal said: “The Juniors have been growing well in their game through the partnership between JGF and Kenya Golf Union.

Players like Nduva and Medirata  have moved from handicaps 16 and 17s to five over the last two years and we hope to see them grow to become great golfers.”

The  tournament was sponsored by Crown Paints, which were represented by CEO Rakesh Rao, to a tune of Sh250,000.