Njoroge Kibugu delighted the home crowd at the 2026 Magical Kenya Open by making the cut with an eagle at Friday's 18th hole.
A four-under-par 66 in the first round laid the platform and when he birdied the seventh on Friday, the 22-year-old was five under and nicely inside the cut line.
Bogeys at the 12th and 14th made for a nervy finish as he slipped one shot outside the projected cut of four under.
But a solid two-putt at the 16th and another at the 17th, where his long birdie attempt pulled up just short, left Kibugu needing to birdie the par-five 18th to keep himself around for the weekend.
A solid drive just off the left edge of the fairway set up a stunning approach to four feet and an eagle to make the cut in style.
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'.
“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.”
