German Hensleit stages comeback to retain Magical Kenya Ladies Open title 

KILIFI, Kenya, Feb 13 – German Esther Henseleit overcame a two- stroke deficit in the front nine to successfully defend the Magical Kenya Ladies Open in Vipingo Ridge.

Hensleit nevertheless survived late scares in the last two holes after she hit the waters in the 17th and struggled with the putt on the par four 18th where she incidentally parred to win her second straight title since the inception of the tournament in 2019.

Speaking after receiving a trophy and a cheque of Ksh 5.8 million (45,000.00 EUR) from First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, Henseleit gave tribute to her boyfriend who is also her coach.

“It was not easy defending my title, I came under pressure and that really affected me in the opening three rounds but going to the final I had to step up,” he said.

“Things were made more difficult when I hit the ball in the water to complicate things but I hand to concentrate and focus so that I score the much-needed points. It’s always a great pleasure to be back again, I thank the Kenyan government for supporting women golf,” the German underscored.

The 23-year-old had her campaign effectively sewn up when longtime leader Linnea Storm faltered on the final round.

Such was the drama and gusto that characterized the 72-hole thriller at the par 72 PGA Boabab course in Vipingo Ridge.

It was a bitter pill for Strom to swallow after she had led the pack from Day One through to the first few holes of the last day where tournament form dipped at the eleventh hour.

On hole 7, Hensleit reduced Strom’s lead to one shot but both tied on 3 under on the eighth hole.

One her way up, Hensleit staged a scintillating 10th hole comeback to finally break away from Strom through to the last hole 18.

From the depths of frustration, she re-energized herself to pull through when it really mattered despite hitting the edge of the 18th green and parring the hole to win the tournament by one shot over Spanish pro Marta Sanz Barrio as Strom settled for third.

Her bad start in the opening two rounds was by and large a blessing in disguise as she worked to deliver a round of three under par 69 on penultimate day on Saturday.

Hensleit had start after posting a disappointing first two rounds of +2 and +1 on Thursday and Friday respectively.

On the final round, both Hensleit and Strom started off with bogeys on the par 4 first serving up great moments ahead.

Meanwhile, Safaricom has announced that it will partner with Huwaei to top up the prize money for the event ahead of the next edition to attract top golfers in the world.

Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa said corporate backing will definitely help attract leading players to Kenya.

As part of growing the sport in the country, Kenya’s leading telco Safaricom PLC who also recently through its mobile money service M-PESA, committed Ksh.20 million sponsorship for the second edition of Magical Kenya Ladies Open, has assured its commitment to nurturing and supporting talents in golf.

“Sports sponsorship remains an important area for us because of its role in transforming the lives of Kenyans especially the youth. The young golfers we nurture and develop have an opportunity to become the next generation of prison future and earn from their passion,” Ndegwa said.

Magical Kenya Ladies Open – Final Scoreboard

1       Esther Henseleit (GER)         -2      286

2       Marta Sanz Barrio (ESP)       -1      287

3       Linnea Strom (SWE)    +2     290

4       Sophie Hausmann (GER)     +3     291

5       Lee-Anne Pace (RSA) +5     293