Team Kenya captain John Lejirma secured his fifth title in the 2024 Kenya Amateur Golf Championship (KAGC) series after a thrilling playoff victory at the NCBA Diani Beach Masters.
The event, held at the picturesque par-72 Diamond Leisure Beach and Golf Resort, marked its return after a six-year hiatus.
Lejirma, representing Kenya Railway Golf Club, tied with John Kamais of Nakuru Golf Club after completing 54 holes, both finishing with a total score of 220 (+4).
This resulted in a sudden-death playoff on the par-5 18th hole.
In the tense playoff, Lejirma remained calm under pressure and delivered a crucial birdie to clinch the win, while Kamais settled for par, taking second place.
Lejirma’s journey to victory was not without its challenges.
He posted rounds of 72, 74, and 74, facing difficulties along the way.
Reflecting on the final day, Lejirma acknowledged his struggle during holes seven to ten, where he recorded four consecutive bogeys.
“From hole seven to ten, I hit a bogey train, but I managed to recover with some birdies,” Lejirma said.
Speaking about the playoff, he added, “I stuck to my plan. My first shot was straight on the fairway, and my second shot was perfect. I was laying up for a par, but I ended up with a birdie, and that’s how I got it.”
Lejirma was awarded a cash prize of Sh130,000, the Diani Beach Masters trophy, and the honour of wearing the coveted Green Jacket, which was spectacularly delivered to the Diamond Leisure Golf Course by a man parachuting in.
This victory marks Lejirma’s fifth KAGC title of the season, following victories at the NCBA Gold Fields Trophy at Kakamega Golf Club (June 30), the NCBA Ruiru Open (June 16), the Ronald Marshal and Toby Gibson Cup (May 18) at Njoro Golf Club, and the Trans Nzoia Open (April 24).
He sits second in the 2024 KAGC standings with 646 points.
Kamais, who had been in fine form, delivered rounds of 75, 70, and 75 but narrowly lost in the playoff.
Despite this defeat, he had recently defeated Lejirma at the 2024 NCBA Nyanza Open ‘Hippo Pot’ Tournament, securing his first KAGC title.
In third place at the Diani Beach Masters was Michael Karanga of Kiambu Golf Club, who finished just one stroke behind the leaders with a score of 221 (+5), after rounds of 71, 73, and 77.
Karanga, the current leader of the 2024 KAGC series with 693 points, maintained his consistency throughout the tournament but couldn’t overcome seven bogeys in the final round.
William Odeck of Nyali Golf and Country Club secured fourth place with a score of 224 (+8), showing resilience with rounds of 77, 72, and 75.
Diamonds Leisure Beach and Golf Resort Club Captain Stan Kirsch said the last Diani Beach Masters tournament was in 2018.
“It is six years now that it (Diani Beach Masters) hasn’t been held. Of course, there was a hiatus because of Covid and afterwards, the sponsorship involved was not that big anymore, so we had to struggle to try and find enough money to hold the event,” said Kirsch.
He hailed this year’s event as nothing short of amazing, coming after a six-year break.
“We were hoping for slightly more players, but in the end, we got the top players of this region to play here. I mean, five players were below scratch handicap. There were 11 players with handicap 1 or lower and I think 23 with handicap 2 or lower. So, they were the top players and the winner was a deserved winner,” he said.