This archive report was first published on 3 December 2019.
Belinda Wanjiru Macharia, a 9-year-old golfer from Kenya, has made a name for herself in the golfing world, and her efforts have not gone unnoticed. She has been nominated for the Most Promising Girls category of the 2019 Safaricom Sports Personality of the Year Awards (SOYA).
Wanjiru's success in the local and international golfing scene this season has been impressive. She first hit the headlines in January when she represented her school in the Banda Trophy nine-hole event at Karen Country Club, where she emerged the winner with a score of 20 stableford points.
Her achievements did not stop there. On February 16, she emerged the nett winner at the Sigona Ladies Open and was also the gross winner to bag the bronze medal. She finished second on July 24 at the NPA nine-hole event with 35 gross before representing the country in the World Championships in Pinehurst, USA, where she tied in position 41 out of 114 established participants.
Wanjiru will be competing against other talented young athletes, including Jentrix Shikangwa, a prodigy from the national women's football team Harambee Starlets, and Faith Atieno from Nairobi Dynamites, among others.
The Safaricom SOYA gala is scheduled to take place on January 24 in Mombasa, and it is being sponsored by Safaricom, Mombasa County, Communication Authority, and UBA Bank.
