Krish Shah defends Junior Strokeplay crown

• Shah showed consistency over the four rounds
• He has now won back to back titles
• Bianca Ngechu was the best girl

Krish Beiju Shah’s consistency over the four rounds paid off as he successfully defended the Kenya Junior Strokeplay championship at the Muthaiga Golf Club.

After a slow start with a score of 78, Kris scored identical 75 and 75 in rounds two and three before improving to a 74 in the final round. The final round was particularly impressive as he picked five birdies and played level par in six holes.

“Round one was 50-50 for me as I didn’t finish that well. As the tournament moved on, I got more consistent and if you are consistent in this game, I think you will have a good chance of winning. I played seven over day 1, then four over, four over and three over, so consistency is good,” explained Shah.

Shashwat Harish was in the top two of the Junior Strokeplay throughout the four rounds at the Muthaiga Golf Club. His score of 73 in the first round was followed by 78 in the second round and 77 in the third round. At hole 17 in the final round four, he was only one stroke behind Krish Shah. He played level par at hole 18 while Krish picked a birdie to win the championship by two strokes.

“The Junior Strokeplay tournament was fun, I really enjoyed it. I started well, kept it consistent because I was at the top throughout the three days. The fourth day I fell just a little short on the back nine,” said Shashwat who finished with a score of  20 over par 304.

Ngechu best girl at Junior Strokeplay

Bianca Ngecu poses with her trophy

The best girl was Bianca Ngecu at position five with a combined score of 31 over.

“In round four of the Junior Strokeplay the first nine was good, I just missed a few putts, it wasn’t that bad (six pars and three bogeys). The second nine I played well and im happy with the score that I came up with,” she said.

Juniad Manji finished third in the Junior Strokeplay with a score of 22 over par306. His score of 79 in round one wasn’t the best but he caught up with the leaders after scores of 76 and 75 in the second and third rounds. He finished with a score of 76 in the fourth and final round.

“Round four went well, better than I expected. The start was a bit rusty as I was feeling a little bit of pressure. But after the first three holes, I got settled in and then I found the rhythm and the flow just happened. I ended up shooting a decent score (of 76),” he explained.

Earlier on at the Junior Strokeplay event, Shah scored 75 in round three, same score as in round two. Krish had a good first nine where he started off with a birdie, then got four straight pars before a bogey, another birdie, and a double bogey.

Another four straight pars gave him an impressive 35 in the first nine. In the second nine, Krish had a score of 40 to move from third on the leaderboard to the top.

Starting well on hole 10 key

Krish and Bianca pose with their trophies.

“Starting with a birdie on hole 10 of the Junior Strokeplay is always good, and I made a couple of pars thereafter. It was a good first nine,” said Krish.

Shashwat Harish maintained his second position on the leaderboard but tied with Krish on an overall score of +15. He was one stroke better than in round two with a score of 78 on the day. His first nine yielded 38 and his second nine 39.

“Golf is like that, you start badly sometimes. I started with four bogeys and it was tough. But I told myself there is 14 holes to go and I kept it going, tried to play for pars, if the birdie came, it came; a bad start doesn’t always guarantee a bad finish,” explained Harish on his difficult start in round three,” he observed.

Junaid Manji has had a steady climb from the first round and now sits third, only two strokes behind the leaders. He had an impressive first nine of level pars in all the holes except a bogey in hole 12 for a score of 38. He scored 39 in the second nine for a total of 75 on the day.

“I have been focusing on the little things and I have not been too focused on my score. I have been busy trying to get some momentum my way. Other than that, I have tried to keep it steady as much as I can,” he explained after the Junior Strokeplay event.