- There are 12 countries taking part in the tournament
- It will be staged at the Windsor Golf Club
- Argentina, Austria and Belgium are some of the countries to send golfers
The highly anticipated NCBA US Kids Championship commenced today at the prestigious Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club, bringing together talented junior golfers from 11 countries for a spirited competition.
Junior participants from Argentina, Austria, Belgium, China, Ghana, India, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and the host country, Kenya, showcased their golfing prowess in various age categories, creating an atmosphere of international camaraderie and sportsmanship.
Some of the best scores recorded were from;
*Hakim Mutugi – Boys 7 years and under, displaying a remarkable performance with a gross score of 35 – Kenyan.
*Munesu Chimhni – Boys 12 years, with a gross score of 75 – Representing Zimbabwe.
*Vianna Dave – Girls 8 and under, with a gross score of 41 – Proudly representing Kenya.
*Zianna Kodo – Girls 9-10 years, with a gross score of 41 – Another promising talent from Kenya.
*Miriam Masiya – Girls 13-14 years, gross score of 76 – Hailing from Zimbabwe.
*Tanaka Ashley – Boys 15 -18 years Scoring 70 – representing Zimbabwe
NCBA gives opportunity for experience
Nkini Pasha follows her tee at the Championship.
Beyond the exhilarating competition, the NCBA US Kids Championship offers young golfers a unique opportunity to engage in a multi-day championship and potentially secure the coveted U.S. Kids Golf Priority Status.
This prestigious status, earned at different levels throughout the tournament, opens doors for participants to qualify for other U.S. Kids Golf Major Championships.
These include Regional, International, and World Teen Championships, providing a pathway for these young athletes to further their golfing careers on a global stage.
As the championship progresses, anticipation builds for more outstanding performances and the crowning of the next generation of golfing champions.
Before the tournament teed off, the Junior Golf Foundation unveiled the location for their new offices which will be at the Windsor Golf Club.
JGF currently has two rooms at Windsor and now Windsor, NCBA, and Annet company from Sweden will put up 10 offices for JGF at Windsor.
“This will be used by the juniors for the next ten years and the contract is actually renewable. So we have a new home and the juniors have a place they can call home,” said JGF president Regina Gachora.
Important to have government support
Kanana Muthomi was the winner in the girls’ 11-12 years category
Regina added that it is important to have government support in the development of sports and they are glad to have received that from the Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Ababu Namwamba who came to unveil the plaque for the new JGF offices.
“In bringing in an international tournament you must have government support and also for our juniors who travel around the world they need govt support so it was important for the cabinet secretary to come here in our first international junior tournament to show his support,” she observed.
“This is a major step for the junior golf foundation. Just the other day we distributed golf balls to all clubs in the country, and now JFG has a new home here. It shows golf is on the right trajectory in growth,” said the Cabinet secretary.
Twelve countries including Kenya are taking part in the NCBA Invitational tournament.
Meanwhile the kids were taken through training by US Kids Golf coach Jim Hardy. Hardy already had a three-day refresher course with a group of coaches that went through the US Kids coaches training in the last three years. “When we are teaching kids, we want to make sure that the coaches understand that you can’t teach a kid the same way that you teach an adult. We use a couple of keys, we teach very lightly and then we play a game that increases the skill that we just introduced,” he explained.
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