{"id":494351,"date":"2026-02-23T15:39:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T15:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/494351\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T15:39:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T15:39:10","slug":"kenyan-golf-star-earns-55000-bonus-after-standout-dp-world-tour-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/494351\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenyan Golf Star Earns $55,000 Bonus After Standout DP World Tour Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Njoroge Kibugu achieved a career best on the DP World Tour last week by finishing T61 at the Magical Kenyan Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The highlight for the young man will have undoubtedly been his eagle at 18 on the Friday to make the cut.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI’m putting it in a museum or something,” he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to hit a five (iron) but my caddie told me, \u2018There’s adrenaline, just hit it to the centre of the green\u2019. It came out hot, which I’m happy about. I gave it everything I had and yeah, the rest is history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Out of the 17 Kenyan players in the field, Kibugu was the only one to survive the cut at Nairobi\u2019s Karen Country Club.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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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<\/p>\n

Kenya\u2019s 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).<\/p>\n

Kenya’s top performer Njoroge Kibugu \ud83c\uddf0\ud83c\uddea 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\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/a89wi5NcJLFebruary 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The tournament\u2019s South African champion Casey Jarvis took home $459,000<\/a> and his maiden DP World Tour title.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Kibugu has played six times on the DP World Tour, but last week\u2019s T61 was the best finish of his career and far superior to his T116 finish in 2025.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n