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.

Golf Park’s Naomi Wafula in action on the second round of the Magical Kenya Ladies Open at the PGA Baobab Course in Kilifi.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Sweden’s Julia Engström had a near-perfect day on the second day of the Kenya Ladies Open, dropping only one shot and holing seven birdies to return an impressive score of 6-under par 66. Her stunning performance takes her total score, after 36 holes, to 11-under par 133, opening up a comfortable six-shot lead at the top.

Julia, who started her round from the tenth tee in the morning, got off to consecutive birdies at the par-4 10^th and the par-5 11^th before holing consecutive birdies at the par-4 13^th and the par-4 14^th. She holed the only bogey of the round at the par-4 16^th to card a back nine total of 33. On the front nine, she played exceptionally well, holing birdies at the par-3 fourth, the par-5 sixth and the par-4 ninth to card a total of 33.

Speaking after the round, the 2018 Ladies European Tour Rookie of the Year said she was happy with her performance, adding that she is enjoying her first visit to Kenya.

“I started off well and made four birdies in the last five holes. I didn’t hole that many putts in the middle of the round, but I finished off well. I hit more greens today, so I’m happy with my round,” she said.

“It is my first time in Kenya and I’m really enjoying it. It is quite hot but it’s pretty cold in Sweden right now so I’m enjoying the last sunshine of the year,” she added.

Asked whether she had started entertaining the possibility of this event being her first Tour victory, she said: “It would be great. Obviously, it is golf, and anything can happen. It is a tough course; we are playing it long and you need to play decent. I’m happy with my two days and I had a good weekend in Spain.”

With her second-round performance, Julia established a comfortable lead over the three nearest tied challengers, Kelsey Macdonald of Scotland, Ursula Wikström of Finland and Germany’s Esther Henseleit, who ended their round with 5-under par 139 scores from the two rounds.

Kelsey, who started her round at the tenth, carded a superb back nine total of 31, having holed birdies at the par-5 11^th, the par-4 13^th, par-4 14^th, par-3 17^th and the par-4 18^th. On the front nine, she carded a total of 37 having dropped shots at the fifth and seventh holes yet hitting a birdie at the second hole. Hers was a step up in performance from yesterday where she returned a 1-under par 71 score after 18 holes.

Speaking after her round, Kelsey said: “I hit it great off the tee, gave myself a lot of chances and my putting was really solid today. It was great to get out in the first group when it was a little less humid. I’m just really happy with my performance today.”

On her part, Ursula handed in a blemish-free scorecard with a 36 on the back nine having held par on all holes. It is at the front nine where she found form, holing birdies at the second, fourth, eighth and ninth holes for a total of 32.

The 2019 Ladies European Tour Rookie of the Year, Esther Henseleit, played a bogey-free round, holing birdies at the par-4 seventh and the par-5 15^th to card a 2-under par 70 score for the round. The 20-year-old German national, who turned pro this year, has had an impressive record on the Tour, sealing 10 top-ten finishes in 18 tournaments. She is currently second in the LET Order of Merit and is poised to pick up a decent number of points if she maintains her form.

Meanwhile, the trio of Scotland’s Michelle Thompson, Finland’s Sanna Nuutinen and the USA’s Cheyenne Woods finished the round tied in fifth with 4-under par 140 scores -seven shots off the lead. Both Michelle and Sanna played rounds of 68 while Cheyenne carded a round of 70 –an identical score from yesterday’s round.

Speaking after the round, Cheyenne said she felt confident in her game adding that she aims to play well tomorrow so as to be in the final group on Sunday.

“Same score as yesterday, but I did play very different. We played afternoon tee time, so it was a lot windier. The course played completely differently so I have to make some adjustments but, overall, my game feels really solid. I was able to get a few birdies in there and an eagle, so it felt pretty good,” she said.

Speaking about her eagle putt at the 15 hole, she said: “If you hit a good drive on that hole, you can get down far enough to be in reach of the green in two. It played straight down wind today, so I had a seven iron into the green and I hit to about 25 feet and made the putt for eagle; so that was definitely a nice little momentum boost going into the stretch of the round.”

A total of 70 players made the Cut – which was set at 7-over par – to play in the remaining two rounds. Golf Park’s elite amateur, Naomi Wafula, and Nyali Golf Club’s pro, Bhavi Shah –who were only Kenyans left in the field- missed the Cut after they posted 13-over par 157 and 23-over par 167 scores respectively after the two rounds.