John Lejirma, leader of the Kenya Amateur Golf Championship (KAGC) series, has withdrawn from the 102nd NCBA Kenya Amateur Match Play Championship at Windsor Golf and Country Club.
The four-day tournament, starting Thursday morning, attracted 78 golfers from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, the UK, India, and South Africa.
This year’s championship is exclusively open to male participants.
Lejirma, who has won four KAGC series titles this year, was a strong contender for the championship.
On Thursday, he revealed that he had injured his right toe while practicing at the gym.
“Unfortunately, due to injury, I have withdrawn from the tournament. I injured my right toe at the gym when I dropped a weight on it. It’s mainly the toenail that was affected, but I got treatment,” said Lejirma.
He hopes to recover soon and participate in upcoming tournaments.
“I’ll recover soon and use this as motivation for my next tournaments,” he said.
Lejirma, from Kenya Railways Golf Club, has had an impressive season, winning 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 in Nakuru, and the Trans Nzoia Open (April 24).
At Windsor, Lejirma was set to compete against defending champion Michael Karanga (Kiambu Golf Club), Elvis Muigua (Kiambu Golf Club), Adel Balala (Nyali Golf Club), and Isaac Makokha of Kenya Railways.
Karanga, currently third in the KAGC series with 264.9 points, aims to retain his title.
“I’m focused on retaining the Kenya Amateurs Match Play Championship title at Windsor this weekend so that I can secure a direct slot in the Kenya Open 2025,” he said.
Last weekend, Karanga won the NCBA Limuru Open at Limuru County Club, his second title in the 2024 KAGC series, having also won the NCBA Coronation Cup in Nakuru on May 31.