This archive report was first published on 8 December 2019.
On a hotly contested final round, German golf pro Esther Henseleit produced a course record score of eight under par 64 to claim the 2019 Magical Kenya Ladies Open title at the par-72 PGA Baobab course on December 8, 2019.
With this win, Henseleit not only claimed the first pay cheque of Sh5 million and a beautiful trophy but also emerged the winner of the 2019 Ladies European Tour (LET) Order of Merit.
"I am overwhelmed. I just do not have enough words to express my happiness. I really wanted to win, but also winning the Order of Merit for the season is more than one can even imagine," said thrilled Henseleit.
She attributed her success to her strategy of piling up as many birdies as possible to recover the seven shots the leader Julia Engstrom had established over her to win.
"I need to make as many birdies in order to catch, and I am really happy that I hit excellent iron shots in addition to my take off from the tee," said Henseleit.
She took off well, firing birdies on the first, fourth, sixth, seventh, and ninth holes, which gave her the confidence and hope as the leader then Engstrom dropped a shot after the other.
At the back nine, the 20-year-old Henseleit made birdies at the 11th, 13th, and 15th for a bogey-free eight under par, which gave her a total of 14 under par 274.
"After the first nine, I knew I had a good chance if I stayed firm, and the three back nine birdies actually made me have the confidence I needed," added Henseleit, who beat hot-charging Aditi Ashok of India by a narrow margin of one shot.
