Local Kenyan hero Njoroge Kibugu was soaring in popularity after sensationally eagling his closing hole to make the halfway cut in the 2026 Magical Kenya Open
Kibugu, sporting one of the more eye-catching haircuts in men’s golf, backed-up his first round 66 with a second day 69 to be sharing 42nd place and two shots inside the cut-off mark on the host Karen course.
Of course, standout shot for the 22-year-old was his second shot into the par-5 18th with his ball landing just four-feet from the pin ahead of holing the putt for an eagle ‘3’.
Every shot of Njoroge Kibugu’s final hole on Friday as he needed to make a birdie to make the cut #MKO2026 pic.twitter.com/GyDKwNfa1V
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) February 20, 2026
After hugs from playing partners Dan Bradbury and Matteo Manassero – players with seven DP World Tour wins between them, neither of whom made the weekend – a smiling Kibugu enjoyed a sea of handshakes and high-fives on his way to the scorers’ hut.
He said: “I haven’t processed it yet but I feel a bit ecstatic, you know? Especially with the crowd on the last.
“Two great shots in there and a four-footer, just happy I sunk it and I’m just happy to be playing the weekend.
“It feels amazing, to be honest. As I saw the crowds get bigger, my energy started pumping because I was like, ‘Okay, this is bigger than me, there’s a lot of people who are riding on me’.
WHY WE THE GAME SO MUCH ….
Wonderful story 22-year-old #Kenya Njoroge Kibugu brilliantly eagles the last to make the cut #MKO2026 @magicalkenya
Read: https://t.co/vlRXv2oNMA
SKY
✅ @TOURMISS pic.twitter.com/LeAVC7rUj4
— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) February 20, 2026
“So going into the last, I knew it was more than me, so it was nice having the crowds there.”
Asked if the approach at the last was “the best six iron of your life”, Njoroge grinned: “Oh, I’m putting it in a museum or something!”
He said: “I hit a great drive down there. I had 226 yards in and there was not too much wind, but there was adrenaline pumping.
“I wanted to hit a five (iron) but my caddy told me, ‘There’s adrenaline, just hit it to the centre of the green’. It came out hot, which I’m happy about. I gave it everything I had and yeah, the rest is history.
“I just needed to get the line. I didn’t have those the whole day. I asked my caddy, ‘What is this?’, and he told me it was left in, and I just hit the putt, I didn’t think too much.”
