We are used to hearing the term that determination and hard work eventually pays off but there is no truer depiction of this than Marion Githinji the overall winner of the Safaricom Golf Tour. She was declared the winner after emerging as the best golfer at the final which was held at the Vipingo Ridge Baobab Golf Course in Kilifi County earlier this month.
Marion’s win was interesting due to the fact that not only was she the winner of the first tournament that was held at her home course in Nanyuki. She also managed to beat players who had a handicap lower than hers to clinch the title.
To put this into context, Marion who has a handicap of 28 only started playing golf seriously last year. Previously, she used to escort her husband to the course in a bid to see what made him and his friends so addicted to the game.
It is only when she started taking the game seriously that she also got hooked because she realized that it challenged one mentally because to win, you have to play a calculated game. She also loves that fact that it has enabled her to meet many new people as well as make friends. Not to mention the fact that the game has taught her to accept wins and losses gracefully.
Marion shared that on the day of the tournament at Vipingo Ridge, It was very windy something which she was not used to in Nanyuki. As such, she had to try and judge try and judge the wind speed and direction correctly before making her shot. It appears that her reading of the wind worked given her win. She also indicated that through the game she tried her best to remain calm and manage the game to the best of her ability. It also helped that she had a good caddie who knew the course as well as team mates who made the game enjoyable.
Marion termed her win as a bag of mixed emotions, this is because she was definitely excited because she could see that the efforts that she had put in golf were finally paying off. However, the win also came with pressure because, she wants to improve on her game as well as lower her handicap.
She termed her win as a Godsend because other than bringing the trophy to her home club in Nanyuki. It has also made ladies at her club who were not very interested in the game to start taking it seriously. Also, the fact that she was a rookie, yet managed to win the inaugural Safaricom Golf Tour has served to show that anyone can do it. It is her hope that this will serve to encourage others who are interested in the sport to take It up.
Marion had only nice things to say about Safaricom whom she felt had done an excellent job in demystifying the sport. They did this by organizing golf clinics in public spaces and schools where those kids who have never interacted with the sport got a chance to try it out. She also loved the junior program which nurtures and develops young talents for the country’s future. This is because courtesy of taking part in the tournament, the juniors get to compete against each other and start working on improving their game from an early age. As a matter of fact, her child who is only 7 years of age, is already looking forward to winning a tournament.
Marion Githinji emerges as the winner at the finals of Safaricom Golf Tour