Nyali Golf and Country Club’s Bhavi Shah in action at the PGA Baobab Course on the first round of the 2019 Magical Kenya Ladies Open.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Nyali Golf and Country Club’s lady professional golfer, Bhavi Shah -the only lady pro golfer from Kenya to feature at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open presented by M-Pesa- has said that her participation at the tournament has inspired her to improve on her game to enhance her competitive edge.

Bhavi, who finished her challenge at the tournament in 98^th position with a score of 23-over par 167 after two rounds, said she relished the opportunity of having played a Ladies European Tour event, adding that it was a great experience to interact and learn from some of the top lady golfers from across the world.

“I have learnt that I need to work on my competitive edge because it has been a few years since I competed. It has been two and a half years since I played on a proper event, (and even though) I have been playing at the men’s events, it is not the same thing playing against your own companions,” she said.

She added: “It is a really great opportunity especially because we have never had any lady professional events in the country, so I think this is really good. It feels great. The biggest take out for me is having had a chance to play on a Ladies European Tour event. Aside from the LPGA, this is the second biggest tour in the world for women. So, to have had a chance just to play on that with some of the girls who have been playing it for five to six years was really amazing.”

Speaking about her time on the course, she said the weather played a significant role in her performance, adding that the heat made it difficult for her to produce the perfect result.

“It has been tough as it is very hot out here. I think I overdid it in my practice because I was so anxious since I wanted to play some good golf. So, after the first day, I felt like I had a bit of heat exhaustion. So, you have to stay hydrated out here and probably have a lot of electrolytes as well, which I didn’t do. Next time I will be better prepared for that,” she said.

Commenting on what needs to be done to ensure that more Kenyan lady golfers are playing more competitively in the future, she said there is definitely a need to nurture the young talent in the country.

“There is a lot that we can do. We need to start from base level and get a lot more younger girls to play and get them involved in club events to start with. The Kenya Ladies Golf Union can also do a lot better in terms of, when they play their GOTY (Golfer of the Year) series, there should be a lot more younger players.”

Buttressing her point, she gave her own experience while playing in South Africa in 2010-2011 where there was a pool of 120 girls with average ages of between 24 and 25 years with single handicaps. “I think there is a lot more to do, but this is a great start,” she said.

She expressed her gratitude for putting together the tournament and gave a special mention to U.COM, the event promoters, for extending an invitation to take part in the tournament.

“The sponsors have done a great job putting together the event. U.COM, the organisers, gave me the invite to play since I did not qualify through the European Tour. So, I am really grateful for that.”

Germany’s Esther Henseleit posing with the 2019 Magical Kenya Ladies Openn trophy shortly after winning the tournament.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Germany’s Esther Henseleit shot a course-record round of 64 on the final day of the Magical Kenya Ladies Open, presented by M-Pesa, to make history as the first winner of the tournament with a total score of 14-under par 274 –one shot ahead of her nearest challenger.

Her final day performance saw her do what many considered to be the unthinkable -turning a seven-shot gap into a win. She played a flawless round to hand in a bogey-free scorecard, adorned with eight birdies, and one which will take quite some effort to topple as one of the most incredible comebacks in the history of the game.

She carded a front nine total of 31, courtesy of birdies at the par-4 first, par-3 fourth, par-5 sixth, par-4 seventh and the par-4 ninth. She followed the superb front nine display with a near-similar performance on the back nine, holing birdies at the 11^th, 13^th and 15^th for a total of 33.

Having already sealed the 2019 Ladies European Tour Rookie of the Year title, Esther added another feather to her cap by becoming the 2019 LET Order of Merit Champion having taken maximum points from the tourney (150) to take her total points tally for the season to 743.06.

Speaking after the win, she said: “To close the season with a win is the best I could imagine and to be the Order of Merit winner is just unbelievable. I just tried to play many birdies, I hit really good irons and played many short birdie putts and managed to play it good. The course played a bit easier today because the greens were a bit softer.”

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta with Germany’s Esther Henseleit at the 2019 Magical Kenya Ladies Open. With them is Sports Cabinet Secretary, Amina Mohammed.

For her outstanding work, Esther took home Euros 45,000 (over KShs 5 million) in addition to the Euros 2,000 (KSHS 224,000) she won earlier in the week after clinching the individual pro win at the Pro-Am event of the tournament.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Aditi Ashok from India shot an impressive round of 65 on the final day of the tournament to end her Magical Kenya Ladies Open campaign with a 13-under par 275 score to finish in second place. She too was impressive, holing eight birdies and an eagle but dropped three shots at the par-3 eighth. For her outstanding effort, she took home Euros 27,000 (KShs 3 Million).

It was disappointment for Saturday’s overnight leader, Julia Engström from Sweden, who had a final day she might rather forget after she carded a 2-over par 74 round to take her total to 11-under 277 -three shots off the lead. She struggled with form, hitting only two birdies and dropping shots at the third, 10^th, 13^th and 17^th holes. Her performance saw her take home Euros 18,000 (KShs 2 million) so not all was lost.

Meanwhile, speaking at the prize-giving ceremony, Kenya’s First Lady, Margaret Kenyatta, lauded the organisers for putting together the event adding that it spoke to the great potential the venue has to hold global tournaments.

Speaking at the same venue, Sports, Culture and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed said the Government is committed to ensuring that the tournament remains an annual event, adding that next year’s tournament will be bigger as a result of greater concerted efforts.

On his part, Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala said the event had greatly enhanced the country’s profile as a preferred sports and tourism destination, adding that with more sponsors, the event will grow into an even bigger success.