Sandhu, Maara to clash in Match Play final
Jay Sandhu follows the progress of his tee shot from ninth hole tee during Kenya Amateur Match Play Championship at Royal Nairobi Golf Club on June 18, 2022.
What you need to know:
- Sandhu, one of the leading amateur golfers in the country said he has been playing well lately and was more than ready for the tournament
- He will now meet Limuru Country Club’s Dennis Maara who fought a close battle with Nyali Golf and Country Club’s Adel Balala in a match that ended at the 18th hole
- The final match between favourite Sandhu and Maara is set for 8am, followed 10 minutes later by the third and fourth place play-off between Kibugu and Balala
Home player Jay Sandhu Saturday increased his chances of clinching the 2022 Kenya Amateur Match Play Championship title, after beating Kenya’s top junior golfer Njoroge Kibugu by a hole in a tough semi-final match at the par 72 Royal Nairobi Golf Club course.
Sandhu, one of the leading amateur golfers in the country said he has been playing well lately and was more than ready for the tournament.
“It's been great, and I am just happy to be playing well and in the fight for the final. I must admit though that the matches were not that easy. My toughest match was against Njoroge Kibugu by far. The boy is amazingly good and you really have to put everything you know in the game to beat him. He really had me sweating,’’ said Sandhu.
He will now meet Limuru Country Club’s Dennis Maara who fought a close battle with Nyali Golf and Country Club’s Adel Balala in a match that ended at the 18th hole where Balala hit his ball out of bound, to lose the match to Maara by a shot.
Balala was leading by the narrow margin of a hole up to the 17th where Maara brought the match to level as they approached the last hole.
Sandhu made it to the semis after beating Ebill Omollo 2-1 in the morning’s quarter-finals in another closely fought match, to book a date with the youngster Kibugu who was the only Kenyan to make the cut during this year’s Magical Kenya Open, a DP World Tour tournament at Muthaiga Golf Club.
Kibugu had beat Edgar Brian 3-2 in the quarter-finals while on the other hand, Balala who is also the current Kenya Amateur Stroke Play champion, had beaten Railway’s Fidelis Kimanzi 4-3 in the morning quarter-finals where Maara made it via Uganda’s Joseph Cwinyaai who was sent packing with a 5-4 victory.
The final match between favourite Sandhu and Maara is set for 8am, followed 10 minutes later by the third and fourth place play-off between Kibugu and Balala. This is the second time, Kibugu has been beaten in the semis of the 100 years old tournament where the winner will earn a place in the 2023 Magical Kenya Open.
The Kenya Amateur Match Play is also part of the Kenya Amateur Golf Championship (KAGC) series and a World Amateur Golf Ranking event. A win for Kibugu would have been a big boost for his World Amateur Ranking points where he currently stands at 386th in the world.
