Railway’s Lejirmah takes early lead at Windsor Classic
John Lejirmah follows his flight during the Malindi Pro-Am Open Governor's Cup golf tournament at the par 70 Malindi Golf and Country Club course on October 06, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Lejirmah, the second best amateur golfer in the country, dropped a shot at the first hole
- A 41 at the back nine was certainly a terrible finish for an opening round, though Kiragu still has a great chance of reclaiming his early leadership during Saturday’s second round
- A purse of Sh450,000 is at stake for the top 20 finishers, curtesy of NCBA Bank and Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club
Kenya Railway Golf Club’s John Lejirmah mixed up five birdies and an equal number of bogeys that resulted into a level par 72, to take a narrow one shot lead as the 2024 Windsor Classic golf tournament got underway at the par 72 Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club on Friday.
Lejirmah, the second-best amateur golfer in the country, dropped a shot at the first hole. He quickly returned to level after a birdie at the third only to bogey the fourth and fifth. He parred the remaining four holes to cross to the back nine on two.
Things looked good early enough at the back nine after two quick birdies at the 11th and 12th holes. The early celebration was however cut shot after dropping a shot at the par three-13th. Lejirmah however rolled up two back-to-back birdies at the 16th and 17th, with a last hole bogey, ruining his chance of finish on under par.
Meanwhile, two early bogeys at the beginning of the back nine followed by a double on the par four 14th and a late one at the 18th pushed pacemaker Daniel Kiragu into second place on one over par 73.
He had played a sweet front nine that included four birdies at the first, fifth, seventh and ninth for a low 32.
A 41 at the back nine was certainly a terrible finish for an opening round, though Kiragu still has a great chance of reclaiming his early leadership during Saturday’s second round in the NCBA Bank-sponsored event which is the third leg of the Kenya Amateur Golf Championship (KAGC) series formerly the Golfer Of The Year series.
On the other hand, Muthaiga’s former Captain Bhanvish Chandaria and Ruiru Sports Club’s Bernard Omondi as well as Golf Park’s Peter Macharia finished the day on two over par 74. The event, which comes soon after the DP World Tour’s Magical Kenya Open, had attracted a field of 132 players.
However there was five no-shows, four withdrawals and one disqualification that left 120 to battle it out for Saturday’s second round cut.
A purse of Sh450,000 is at stake for the top 20 finishers, curtesy of NCBA Bank and Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club.
