The fairways of Thika Sports Club offered more than just the opening tournament of the new Sunshine Development Tour season earlier last month. They also became the stage for two of Kenyan golf’s most exciting new storylines as John Lejirma and Michael Karanga officially entered the professional ranks.
The two became the latest group of Kenyan amateurs to make the leap into the paid ranks, alongside Sandeep Matharu and Sammy Mulama, as local golf continues to embrace a new era of ambition.
For years, both men built their reputations in amateur golf. They won titles, represented Kenya, challenged seasoned players, and repeatedly looked ready for more. Around clubhouses and fairways, one question followed them: When will they turn pro?
Now, that question has been answered.
At Thika Sports Club, they teed it up not as amateurs with potential, but as professionals with pressure, expectations, and careers to build.
And if the opening week is anything to go by, Kenyan golf may be witnessing the rise of two players ready for the next level.
The movement that started last year
This changing of the guard did not begin this season.
The wave of Kenyan amateurs turning professional gathered momentum last year, with female golfers leading the way and proving that the jump was possible, with the newly introduced Sunshine Development Tour East Africa Swing rightly credited for the shift.
Naomi Wafula became one of the standout trailblazers and now competes on the Sunshine Ladies Tour in South Africa – a first one for a Kenyan, and indeed East African lady golfer. Her move was widely viewed as a breakthrough moment for Kenyan women’s golf as she became the first female Kenyan golfer to join the Professional Golfers of Kenya.
She was joined by Margret Njoki and Joyce Wanjiru, who also turned professional, strengthening the women’s game while inspiring younger players to think bigger.
Now the men are following in larger numbers.
Lejirma, Karanga, and Matharu are the newest faces of a growing professional generation.
KARANGA’S DREAM START
If there were nerves, Michael Karanga did not show them.
Making his professional debut, Karanga produced one of the standout performances of the week, finishing tied second and just one shot behind Rwanda’s Celestin Nsanzuwera.
For a first event in the paid ranks, it was a statement finish.
“I feel honoured today to have played three-under for the three rounds,” Karanga said. “It was not easy coming in as a pro for my first tournament, and I put up a good fight.”
He had prepared wisely. Just one week earlier, he played the NCBA Winston Churchill event at the same venue while still an amateur, using it as both competition and reconnaissance.
“I was here one week ago for Winston Churchill as an amateur, so I came here for practice knowing the first tournament for pros would be in this place,” he said.
That familiarity proved important on a demanding Thika course.
“Actually, this course is not easy. As the score can tell, I think I just put myself in play, and that's how I managed to be on the leaderboard for the three days.”
His strategy was simply to avoid trouble, stay patient, and keep scoring opportunities alive.
It nearly delivered a dream debut victory.
Why turning pro made sense for Karanga
Karanga said the decision to leave the amateur ranks was influenced by how much Kenyan golf has changed.
“Before the professional side, there was no tournament. But now there is a good move for the professionals. Golf is growing very well in Kenya.”
He pointed to the growing tournament structure now available to both amateurs and professionals.
“Seeing the Sunshine Development Tour come back this year, we have many tournaments and that’s a positive sign for the pro game. In the amateur calendar, we have around 30 tournaments. So with the kind of money we get here, I think it was a good decision for me.”
He also credited those who pushed him to make the leap, especially employer and supporter George Mburu.
“I’ve been pushed for a very long time to be a professional by my boss Mr George Boro who has been telling me to turn professional, and that I can do it. Actually, the fruits are here now.”
He also thanked Betika for backing him throughout the journey.
“First tournament, becoming tied second, is a good move. Thanks to Betika for walking with me all through as an amateur, now as a pro.”
Then came the message from his boss that now defines his new chapter.
“As my boss said, now I’m in the ocean. It’s up to me to swim.”
Bigger targets ahead
Karanga is not thinking small.
“My target is first to play good golf, as I was playing as an amateur. This is a new chapter.”
“Secondly, is to get this card. I’m really looking forward to get the Sunshine Tour card, to go to South Africa. I’m capable and I have what it takes.”
“Also, to qualify for Magical Kenya Open, to be part of those ten players in the rankings.”
Having already experienced the Kenya Open as an amateur, he believes the professional version could change his life.
LEJIRMA ARRIVES WITH PEDIGREE
While Karanga was the surprise package at Thika, John Lejirma entered the professional ranks with an already established reputation.
Lejirma has long been considered one of the finest amateur golfers in Kenya and East Africa. Calm under pressure, technically polished and battle-tested, he has been a regular force on local leaderboards and international assignments.
Among his standout amateur achievements were multiple Kenya Amateur Golf Championship victories, strong finishes in the prestigious Kenya Amateur Match Play Championship, and repeated selections to represent Kenya in regional and continental competitions.
He also won several club opens across the country and consistently ranked among the top amateurs in East Africa.
During the inaugural Sunshine Development Tour season, he sent one of the clearest signals of his readiness when he won the Royal Nairobi leg, beating established professionals despite still being an amateur.
That victory was not a one-off performance.
Lejirma also posted several top finishes across the season, including podium and top-five results in multiple legs including in Ruiru Sports Club where he went toe to toe with the veteran Dismas Indiza in sudden-death play-off, proving he could compete week after week against top-ranking players.
It is against this background that turning professional for Lejirma was the next logical step.
“It feels like I’ve really grown in my golf,” Lejirma said.
“I’ve really gained experience through amateur golf, both SDT and some local and international events. So I felt it was the right time to take the next step and just try in the big league.”
Lessons from a difficult start
His first professional outing did not go to plan, but Lejirma remains unfazed.
“It’s been a great pleasure. The first one in the books didn’t go well. It’s just part of the game. We take the lessons and move forward.”
That calmness has long been one of his strengths. Rather than panic, he focuses on the process.
“It’s just trusting your process. Getting to interact with different people, play the event, and just staying focused and trusting the process.”
No big talk, just discipline
Lejirma knows the level rises sharply in professional golf.
“I know the level is high out there and really competitive, but that’s something that I really want.”
His answer is not dramatic promises, but consistency.
“Nothing fancy. Just staying patient, staying disciplined, and just enjoying the moment.”
He repeated the theme again when speaking about the future.
“Just keep doing you, keep working hard, keep believing. Anything is possible. And the most important thing, stay composed and be disciplined.”
Fine-tuning the crucial elements
Lejirma has also been sharpening the part of the game that often separates contenders from champions.
“I’ve been working mostly on my short game,” he said. “I’ve been working with my coach, John Liefland. We’ve been having some good time, exchanging some few ideas.”
“Mostly it’s my short game, from around 150 to the putting.”
That focus could make him dangerous quickly.
Inspired by Kibugu
Lejirma says one player has shown what is possible: Njoroge Kibugu.
Kibugu won the inaugural Sunshine Development Tour Order of Merit, earned a Sunshine Tour card, and moved on to compete in South Africa.
“Shout out to Kibugu for setting some bars high. He’s someone I look up to.”
For many Kenyan players, Kibugu’s rise transformed professional golf from a dream into a realistic pathway.
Kenyan golf’s new era
The stories of Lejirma and Karanga are not isolated. They are part of a broader transformation.
Junior golf is growing fast. Amateur golf is deeper with increased tournaments on the Kenya Amateur Golf Circuit and Professional golf now has structure and opportunity.
Karanga believes corporates and the Sunshine Development Tour deserve major credit.
“All those corporates who have come together, the Sunshine Development Tour, they have changed everything for golf in Kenya.”
He also pointed to international opportunities now opening up for local players through events in Rwanda, West Africa, and South Africa.
“As a pro now, you can win good amount, and you can sustain yourself.”
The next names to watch
At Thika, neither player lifted the trophy.
But both may have left with something even more valuable: momentum.
Karanga proved he can contend immediately in the paid ranks. Lejirma begins his professional chapter armed with elite amateur experience and a disciplined mindset built for bigger stages.
Different personalities. Different journeys. Same ambition.
To win. To rise. To take Kenyan golf further.
And if week one was only the trailer, the full season could be worth watching.
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