Lejirma ready to swing his way to Kenya Open victory : The standard Sports

The Samburu people of north-central Kenya are largely known for their semi-nomadic activities.

They are pastoralists, who keep large herd, mainly cattle, and also sheep, goats and camels.

Now, one of their son John Lejirma has broken away from this age-old tradition.

The 28-year old prides himself as the only Samburu who can play golf.

Lejirma stumbled on the game at Golf Park in Nairobi in 2013, when he came from Nakuru to visit his uncle, Jacob Lokoria.

Lokoria works at the expansive Ngong Race Course, where Golf Park is situated, as a horse trainer.

“After finishing my high school, I didn’t want to stay in Nakuru, so I travelled to Nairobi to know more about the city,” said Lejirma.

“While at Golf Park, I was introduced to the game as a caddy. From there, I started to learn more about the sport for about two years. It was not until 2016 that I started playing serious golf and now, the rest is history,” Lejirma told Standard Sports.

Despite being a late starter, Lejirma has already proved himself in the sport with three regional and one national titles to his name, among other gongs.

He has won the East African Challenge in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Victoria Cup in Kenya, the Uganda Open and he is the reigning Kenya Amateur Matchplay champion.

The Kenya Railways Club amateur golfer was also the first local player to qualify for the 2022 Magical Kenya Open championships slated for Muthaiga Golf Club, on March 3-6.

This was after he won the 2021 Kenya Amateur Matchplay Championships in Muthaiga.

“It’s a great privilege to make it to the Kenya Open for the first time in my life. I feel my hard work has finally paid off. I will be competing against world beaters, so I have prepared well enough to make my debut interesting,” he said

The handicap 2 player added that he is targeting nothing but lifting the bronze plated trophy at the Open.

“I feel I’ve got everything needed for the elusive victory; my swings are perfect, my putts are superb and I have great course management skills.”

“It’s almost 20 years since an amateur player made the cut in the Open after Boniface Simwa. I strongly feel like I’m the one who is going to break this jinx,” he said.

Ahead of the prestigious European Tour event, Lejirma has been stepping up his training like a real Samburu warrior.

He has been attacking the range by hitting 300 balls iced with intensive gym work and a 9-hole game on Mondays.

He stretches this with an 18-hole play, which includes chipping and putting on Tuesdays.

Wednesdays are meant for treadmills; he runs and stretches his muscles to gain stamina and power, before resting on Thursdays.

“Weekends I play 72 holes,” he said.