NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 8 – The story of Kibugu siblings is very much phenomenon; from a tender age with kids’ golf clubs mimicking their father’s swing, to their ascent through the local and international ranks, and ultimately morphing into young superstars they are today.
The sons of veteran golfer Dan Kagwe will be overzealous in making all the home advantage count on their home course at Muthaiga.
Admittedly, this will be the first time that the Kibugus are both carrying the Kenyan flag concurrently in the iconic Kenya Open.
While Njoroge will be part of the six amateurs in the fray, his elder sibling Mutahi will be hoping against hope to outlast the foreign legion as a member of the ten-man Kenyan pro outfit.
Njoroge, the youngest of the two brothers, goes into the 72-hole stroke-play championship spurred on by his past international record and which was laden with much allure.
As a national junior golf team Captain for Kenya last year, Njoroge finished third overall in his chase for the individual title in the All Africa Junior Golf Challenge held at the Palm Hills Golf Course in Giza, Cairo, Egypt.
–Njoroge makes his mark–
Nineteen-year-old Njoroge mesmerized the home crowds at last year’s Kenya Open at Muthaiga where he finished round two birdie-eagle to be in a vantage position for contention heading into the weekend.
The then 18-year-old is a member at Muthaiga Golf Club and he made all that local knowledge count as a bogey-free 66 moved him to six under on home soil.
While Mutahi has played in only one European Tour event at Karen in 2019, Njoroge has graced two.
Njoroge (19) will be making only his third DP World Tour appearance after missing the cut at the 2021 Kenya Savannah Classic.
Comparatively, Mutahi took a stab at the prestigious Sunshine Tour in 2022 where he graced a number of events as a dress rehearsal to the Kenya Open.
Born on 15.01.2001, Mutahi finished 139th in the 2019 Kenya Open but will be angling at his maiden DP World Tour cut on home course.
In 2021, Mutahi had qualified as the top junior in Kenya but his caddie tested positive for COVID-19 and since they had traveled in the same taxi from Muthaiga, he was not eligible to participate given the stringent rules touching on the vagaries of the pandemic.
As stop-gap, Adel Balala was called upon to fill the void left during which time golf enthusiasts had been looking forward to watching Mutahi in action.
But be it as it may, the dual participation of the two brothers is bound to elicit excitement of insurmountable levels amongst the home fans.
