It's grand pay day as curtain falls on Magical Kenya Open

Local golfer Mutahi Kibugu follows his shot during the Magical Kenya Open Day Three of the event at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club course on March 12, 2023. Stafford Ondego, Standard]

It's a grand pay day as curtain falls on what has been a captivating 2023 Magical Kenya Open (MKO) at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi.

The winner is guaranteed a whopping Sh43 million in prize money, with his closest challenger taking home Sh28 million.

Third, fourth and fifth place finishers will head home with Sh16, 12 and 10 millions in that order.

Kenya's sole survivor in the ongoing tournament Mutahi Kibugu scored a level par on Day Three, yesterday, to take his tally to total three rounds of three under par 210.

Kibugu did not have an impressive start on the front nine, taking only a birdie in the par four sixth.

He had difficulty tackling the fourth and fifth holes which he bogeyed, and finishing the rest on level par.

He upped his game on the second nine, notching birdies at the par four 12th and par five 18th.

Par four 17th proved a hard nut to crack as he ended it's tackle on a bogey, the rest he parred.

"I feel good. I think I didn't hit the ball great today but I managed to scramble the score, which I'm happy with at the end of the day," Kibugu told Standard Sports.

"You would have seen another fist pump like yesterday. I was just unlucky. My putts didn't drop today, hopefully they'll drop tomorrow and we'll see what we can do.

"It feels amazing. Dreams come true. The harder you work, eventually it will come out. You don't know when the hard work will pay off, but eventually it does and it's starting to show, which I'm very excited about."

He continued: "This tournament means everything, when I'm down and out, making silly drops (the crowd) picks me back on my feet.

"A couple of people shouting my name was truly amazing, it lifts me up, keeps my head up and keeps me positive."

Jorge Campillo from Spain follows his tee shot during the Magical Kenya Open Day Three of the event.[Stafford Ondego,Standard]

At the same time, Jorge Campillo of Spain fired eight under par 63 to jump to the top of the leaderboard on a total three rounds of 13 under par 200.

Robert Macintyre of Scotland was placed second on 12 under par 201 heading to today's final.

The duo of Masahiro Kawamura of Japan and Jayden Schaper of South Africa were placed third overnight on 11 under par apiece.

"It was a great round. I played really solid and was able to make a few long putts as well, that really helped, I was able to finish on a high," Campillo said.

"Four birdies in a row to finish and I didn't have a chance to make any bogeys. It was a comfortable round. I hit it very solid and I putted great, so everything worked out really good.

"The last two holes were birdie holes. On ten I got really unlucky because I three-putted there, I hit a pitching wedge in and had no putt because I was at the edge of the green. Then on 14, I hit two great shots on a tough hole and had a 14-footer for birdie, uphill, and I left it just short.

"I thought I just needed to get it to the hole. On 15, I made a great 15-footer downhill and hit a great six iron, the best shot of the day, on 16 to two feet. On 17 I hit a bad shot in and made another great putt, 45-feet. Then a birdie on 18, it was really nice," Campillo added.

Principal Secretary for State Department for Sports and Arts, Jonathan Mueke has hailed the tournament terming it a perfect magnet for tourist destinations.

"This event is definitely giving Kenya very great exposure.

"The championship is in line with the government's vision of taking sports to a higher level," Mueke said.

"Kenya is a great country, it's a sporting giant, we are happy to see world beaters come into the country to experience how magical Kenya is."