By OUR CORRESPONDENT
The inaugural NCBA Machakos Open tees off this weekend at Machakos Golf Club, marking the eighth leg of the 2026 Kenya Amateur Golf Championship series.
The three-day tournament will run from Friday, April 17 to Sunday, April 19, and has attracted a field of 47 golfers with a prize purse of KES 400,000 up for grabs.
Machakos Open is one of two new additions to the KAGC calendar this season, alongside the Ulinzi Invitational, which was staged earlier in March at the Kenya Air Force Golf Club.
Golf Park’s Elly Limo heads into the tournament as one of the players to watch, arriving in strong form following his victory at the NCBA Winston Churchill 2026 last weekend.
He will face competition from a solid field that includes Isaack Makokha, John Koina, John Kamais, Felix Dusabe, and Josphat Rono, among others.
Speaking ahead of the Machakos event, Kenya Golf Union Vice Chairman Brian Akun, who is also the Tournaments Director, said: “The inclusion of two new tournaments to the calendar this year is aimed at elevating performance standards of our amateurs while at the same time giving them more structured pathways for growth. The NCBA Ulinzi Invitational was a big success, and we look forward to an even better NCBA Machakos Open this weekend.”
In the race for the 2026 KAGC title, Jay Sandhu leads the standings with a commanding 560 points, opening a significant gap over Junaid Manji, who sits second on 334.02 points.
Elvis Muigua has climbed to third with 247.26 points following his runner-up finish in Thika, while Kamoza Longwe drops to fourth on 246.30 points in a tightly contested battle. Michael Karanga rounds out the top five on 243.52 points.
At the same time, attention also turns to Golf Park, which will host the eighth qualifier of the 2026 NCBA Golf Series on Friday.
The qualifier will be staged as a mini-event during the club’s Monthly Mug, offering golfers from the club an opportunity to secure slots for the season-ending Grand Finale set for Karen Country Club in November.
Golfers at Golf Park will battle for top honours across multiple categories including Overall Gross Winner (Men and Lady), Overall Gross Runners-Up (Men and Lady), Third and Fourth Best Overall Gross, as well as the Junior Winner, reflecting the competitive and inclusive nature of the series as it continues to traverse clubs across the country.
This will be the eighth qualifying event this season after Royal Nairobi Golf Club in January, Kericho Golf Club, Muthaiga Golf Club, and Mombasa Golf Club in February, Mt Kipipiri Golf & Resort and Kenya Railways Golf Club in March, and Nanyuki Sports Club earlier this month.
