Njoroge Kibugu achieved a career best on the DP World Tour last week by finishing T61 at the Magical Kenyan Open.
The highlight for the young man will have undoubtedly been his eagle at 18 on the Friday to make the cut.
The 22-year old praised the crowd for fuelling him up the 18th and described his approach shot as perhaps one of the best 6-irons of his career.
“I'm putting it in a museum or something," he said.
“I wanted to hit a five (iron) but my caddie told me, ‘There's adrenaline, just hit it to the centre of the green’. It came out hot, which I'm happy about. I gave it everything I had and yeah, the rest is history.”
Out of the 17 Kenyan players in the field, Kibugu was the only one to survive the cut at Nairobi’s Karen Country Club.
This victory also gives him bragging rights for the foreseeable. He is not only now the highest-ranked golfer in Kenya, but also the first local golfer to make the cut here since his brother, Mutahi, in 2023.
As well as capturing the hearts of the fans, Kibugu also earned himself $55,000 in bonuses after taking home $7,150 in prize money
Kenya’s President, William Ruto, offered his personal praise and gifted him KSh5 million (approximately $39,000) via the Ministry of Sports. His sponsor, Absa Bank rewarded the young golfer with a further KSh 2 million (approximately $15,700).
Kenya's top performer Njoroge Kibugu 🇰🇪 signed off in style by playing a blemish free round of 65 on the final day.Njoroge hit five birdies today finishing the tournament on a total score of 6 under winning a total of KES 972,315 as his prize money. @AbsaKenya awarded him an… pic.twitter.com/a89wi5NcJLFebruary 22, 2026
The tournament’s South African champion Casey Jarvis took home $459,000 and his maiden DP World Tour title.
So far this season, Kibugu has achieved four victories and five top-tens on the Sunshine Development Tour and over the past year has climbed over 2,100 places in the global rankings.
Kibugu has played six times on the DP World Tour, but last week’s T61 was the best finish of his career and far superior to his T116 finish in 2025.
This magnificent performance jumps him to 1,288th in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) and also marks a historic breakthrough, as he becomes the first Kenyan professional to enter the Top 100 in Africa at 96th.
