Shashwat Harish won the Kabete Junior Golf Open after finishing first during the final round held today at Vetlab Sports Club.
Shashwat played level par in the first nine, starting with four consecutive pars that were blighted by a bogey at hole five before another two level pars in hole six and hole seven. A birdie at hole eight was followed by another level par at the end of the first nine.
His start of the second nine was slow with a double bogey at hole 10 and a bogey at hole 11. But he settled after that to play seven consecutive level pars. His final score for the championship was 18 over par 234. Shashwat says he took it easy in the final round to enjoy himself, playing alongside Tsevi Soni and Joshua Maina.
“I was playing my own game but having fun with them (Tsevi and Joshua). We had good laughs, each hole was a new experience, and honestly they are two great players and I just enjoyed playing with them,” he elaborated.
Tsevi Soni improved his score from round one where he played 80 to 76 in the second round and 78 in the final third round. His first nine was consistent in all three rounds with an identical score of 40. The difference was in the second nine where he played 80, 76 and 78.
“It was good. I just messed up the front nine, but I had many pars in the back nine which I did throughout the tournament. So im not that angry and Im not that happy also. I feel relieved that these tournaments are over and I have proved that I can play well and my game has improved a lot since last year. I hope to play a lot better moving forward,” explained Soni.
Joshua Maina finished tied for third with Maahir Patel and Mitansh Thacker with a final score of 23 over par 239. His first nine in the final round was not good, with two double bogeys, three bogeys and four level pars.
“I started losing confidence in myself in hole seven in the first nine. The second nine just built my game up a bit, got some confidence, started making some putts, and getting quality shots. I tried finishing strong because the most important shot is the next shot; so I told myself it is not over until it is finally over. I just pushed through the final holes,” said Maina.
Belinda Wanjiru finished won the ladies category with a score of 43 over par 259, tied for 17th in the leaderboard. The Kabete Junior Open was important for the players as it counts towards the world amateur golf rankings. Points earned here improve a player’s ranking and counts towards getting invitations to play at amateur tournaments across the world.
