Rwandan player shines in Inaugural Sunshine Development Tour-EA Swing Qualifying Event
The 25-year-old carded leading score of 2-under par, 69 to take his overall score after four rounds to 4-under par 280,
Celestin Nsanzuwera of Kigali Resort & Villas Club is the 2025 winner of the inaugural Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing Qualifying School (Q-School) tournament, played at the par 71 Great Rift Valley Golf Resort.
The 25-year-old carded leading score of 2-under par, 69 to take his overall score after four rounds to 4-under par 280, four strokes ahead of the overnight leader, Royal Nairobi Golf Club’s John Lejirma who finished on gross score of par, 284. The trio of Dismas Indiza, Greg Snow and Samuel Njoroge, finished T3, with a score of 4-over par 288.
The Rwandese golfer begun slow trailing Lejirma by four shots, the two playing off the same flight, joined by Dismas Indiza. The front pair started tidy off the first nine, with scores of par through the opening two holes. Celestin dropped his first shot at the third, his first of two in the round.
He went ahead to sink birdie for par-4 in the fifth, to turn on a score of par, 35, with Lejirma having bogeyed three holes to relinquish the lead. The Rwandese would then turn on the heat in the back 9, after bogeying the par-4 in 11th, immediately recovering on the 12th with a birdie, with further birdies at par-5 14th and par-4 16th, at this point he was tied with Lejirma at 3-under par. Lejirma would drop three shots in the closing two holes, bogeying the par-5 17th and double bogeying the par-4 18th, with Celestin holding par, to claim the win.
Speaking on his round Celestin said, “I am so excited for this win, as mentioned after round three, I was going to go for the win, I want to thank God, the players I played with, they were good players, but today was my day. I started slowly, hacking the ball but kept my cool, after the bogey at 11th and birdie at the 12th, I started telling myself that it is possible and just kept my head down from there. Playing in the Q-School is a great opportunity for me, it will be my first time playing in South Africa and the chance to get a Sunshine Tour card is huge. I want to thank the organizers for this.”
On his part Lejirma said, “It was a tough day out there, I think I was fatigued at some point, but that is the game of golf. It was frustrating, especially when the strongest part of my game, which is my putting, did not stick today. Getting the opportunity to test my game against the best has been a great experience and playing in the Sunshine tour is a dream come true. At the final Q-School tournament, I want to keep the momentum going and play well, showcase our talents and represent our country.”
Celestin Nsanzuwera takes home KSh 180,220 as prize money with Lejirma taking home KSh 108,130 as the trio of Indiza, Snow and Chege bagging KSh 56,470, each.
There was a play off at the 18th hole to decide the last two players that will play in the final Sunshine Q-School tournament after Isaiah Otuke, Jastas Madoya and Mike Kisia finished T9. Kisia would place his second shot 5 feet from the pin, with two putts to claim 9th place, home pro Madoya settled for 10th off a bogey, with Otuke double bogeying.
Speaking after the playoff win, Kisia remarked, “I have been here before, I failed to make the Kenya Open after losing a play off, so I told myself, not again. I simply kept the ball in regulation and the rest fell into place.I can’t describe this feeling, but I want to feel it every time I play, it will be my first time playing in South Africa and I look forward to it very much. I hope to improve my game as the competition there is high.”
The ten will now go to play at the Sunshine Tour Final Stage Qualifier, set for 8th to the 11th of April 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The entire field earned playing cards to the East Africa Swing events for the year, earning them valuable Sunshine Development tour points and Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points on the East Africa Swing.
