-Balala, Kamais, Wafula, Patel and Coach Khimji, fly out on Monday for the All Africa showdown at Hammamet, where the continent’s premier men’s amateur team event will be staged from Tuesday 13th to Sunday 18th October at the Golf Citrus La Forêt Course.
-The team leaves at a time when regional rivalry is at fever pitch with Uganda featuring Kambale Godfrey, Amon Bwambale, Shaka Kariisa and Antony Otukei, while South Africa, 18-time champions and hosts Tunisia will be the teams to beat.
-The stakes go beyond a trophy and a top-five finish secures vital World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) points and improves Kenya’s seeding for the 2027 Eisenhower Trophy, the World Amateur Team Championship, and offers a pathway to the Magical Kenya Open.
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From Nyali’s sea breezes to Nakuru’s highlands, Muthaiga’s pressure greens to Sigona’s champion factory, the journey ends and the mission begins, to battle Africa’s best at the All Africa Team Championship (AATC).
The official quartet entrusted with the nation’s flag features Adel Balala (Nyali Golf & Country Club), John Kamais (Nakuru Golf Club), Eugene Wafula (Muthaiga Golf Club) and Maahir Patel (Sigona Golf Club) who will be led by Coach Ali Khimji, depart this Monday for Hammamet, Tunisia.
Kenya Golf Union (KGU) has confirmed that the national team for the All Africa Team Championship (AATC) will depart on Monday, where the continent’s premier men’s amateur team event will be staged from Tuesday 13th to Sunday 18th October at the Golf Citrus La Forêt Course.
This team is the final four that emerged after the most competitive Kenya Amateur Golf Championship (KAGC) season in a decade.
KGU first confirmed Balala and Kamais on September 8th during the Railway Invitational. Both had topped the Order of Merit through consistency, Balala with his coastal mastery and big-game experience from the 2022 AATC podium, Kamais with power and resilience forged at altitude in Nakuru.
The final two slots were decided in the sands of Diani at the NCBA Diani Beach Masters at Diamonds Leisure Beach & Golf Resort, where Eugene Wafula delivered when it mattered most, finishing second on 5-over 221 (73, 72, 76) just behind winner Alex Mwangi on 2-over 218 gross.
That runner-up finish in windy, sea-level conditions almost identical to Tunisia convinced selectors.
The 18-year-old Sigona prodigy Maahir Patel completes the puzzle and has been the breakout star of 2026, winning on home soil, starring in the Victoria Cup victory over Uganda in Entebbe in February, while showing a short-game that has drawn comparisons to Kenya’s best and his selection is a nod to youth and fearlessness.
Coach Ali Khimji, who will travel with the team, has been working overtime at Karen and Muthaiga in the last two weeks focusing on foursomes and four ball strategy, the format that makes AATC unique and unlike stroke play, team chemistry is everything.
The team leaves at a time when regional rivalry is at fever pitch with Uganda featuring Kambale Godfrey, Amon Bwambale, Shaka Kariisa and Antony Otukei, and has already arrived in North Africa for early practice, while South Africa, 18-time champions, and hosts Tunisia will be the teams to beat.
But Kenya arrives with belief and the team will have three practice rounds at Citrus La Forêt before the championship proper tees off.
The course, a stunning but brutal layout among citrus orchards with water on 14 holes and notorious Mediterranean afternoon winds, will demand the consistency that Wafula and Balala showed in Diani.
KGU Chairman Brian Akun noted, “This team has been selected purely on merit and current form. Balala and Kamais earned it early, Wafula forced his way in at Diani and Patel brings the junior pedigree we need for team match-play.”
The stakes go beyond a trophy and a top-five finish secures vital World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) points and improves Kenya’s seeding for the 2027 Eisenhower Trophy, the World Amateur Team Championship, and offers a pathway to the Magical Kenya Open.
For Balala, this is a comeback story, for Kamais, a reward for years of grinding, for Wafula, redemption after narrowly missing previous squads and for Patel, a chance to announce himself on the continental stage.
On Monday morning at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, when they check in their clubs for Tunis, they will carry more than golf bags, they will carry the hopes of a nation and now the flag is packed, the passports are stamped-Hammamet awaits.
ENDS.
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