Current and 'will-be-champions' converge at the KCB Karen Masters

KCB Group CEO Joshua Oigara (right) awards Toto Thimba, winner of KCB Karen Masters ProAm at the Karen Country Club on Wednesday [Courtesy]

At the start of this year’s KCB Karen Masters Pro-Am on Wednesday this week, with a marauding chilly morning breeze, Martin Rohwer arrived at the tenth tee at 8.30 am ready for his tee time. Frankly, I thought that he looked out of place in his khaki shorts. If he was not from South Africa, I would have thought that Rohwer was one of the Americans or Europeans that assume that all of Africa is a hot desert. 

After playing the KCB Karen Masters Pro-Am with him, it occurred to me that Rohwer was the model of wisdom and good golf throughout the round. Missing only a couple of fairways and only one instance where he lost concentration on the green, it was evident that he was not only having fun himself but that he had a lot more good golf in him. He probably would have played a lot better if he didn’t have to contend with the lackluster golf that I was playing.

Having dispensed with the matter of the Pro-Am event on Wednesday, the serious matter of the main competition commenced yesterday. If I was not refereeing at the event, I would definitely be following some of the players out on the course. This might be the easiest way to watch current champions like Daniel van Tonder who is currently leading in the Sunshine Tour order of merit. The other person to watch is JC Ritchie who is lying second on the same ranking but, at position 123, is also the highest ranked golfer on the Official World Golf Ranking at this year’s KCB Karen Masters.

The 2018 KCB Karen Masters champion, Michael Palmer, will also be defending his title and he is looking at keeping the blue jacket for another year. One notable player that will not be returning for this year’s KCB Karen Masters is Justin Harding. He was tied 18th at the 2018 event and was tied second for this year’s Magical Kenya Open. Harding’s Official World Golf Ranking is currently 49 and he has since managed to get invitations to some of the top events in the world.

I can’t help but feel proud of the current champions like Brooks Koepka, the current World number one and Justin Harding when I watch them on the world stage knowing that they used the Karen Country Club course as a stepping stone to get to where they are today. 

As for our local boys like Greg Snow and  Simon Ngige from the professional ranks as well as Samuel Njoroge and Matthew Wahome from the amateur ranks they are definitely in the right place among the current and “will-be” champions. I sure hope that we can see one of our very own on the world stage as a result of the invaluable exposure that they will be getting from the KCB Karen Masters.

Wang’ombe is a Kenya Golf Union Executive