Kiambu Golf Club’s Michael Karanga walked away from the matatu industry, where he was a tout, to become not only Kenya’s number one amateur golfer but also among the top 100 golfers in the world.
Born on January 24, 1995, in Ndumberi, Kiambu County, Karanga went to primary school at Karunga Primary School from 2001 to 2009 in the Ndumberi area.
It was while in primary school he was introduced to the game of golf as one of the youngsters on the junior programme at Ndumberi Golf Club in 2006.
“I was not keen on golf though and this is one of the reasons I even dropped the golfing idea as my mind was fixed on the matatus where I found those makangas (touts) really funny and very interesting.
“I dropped out of high school to engage full-time being a matatu tout because I wanted to make money for my survival,” added Karanga.
However, his decision did not please his grandfather from his mother’s side, Michael Karanga Mwaura, a retired Professional golfer.
“My grandfather, “MK” as he is popularly known, managed to convince me to leave the matatu idea, hence in 2011, I started golf seriously at Ndumberi Golf Club, where I was eventually given a handicap of 10 in 2012.
“I really thank and appreciate “MK” for the decision he took because it opened my mind and I could see that I had taken the wrong decision earlier,” said Karanga in an exclusive interview with Nation Sport.
In 2013, Karanga was taken up by Njogu wa Njoroge to Kiambu Golf Club, where he and other juniors were allowed to play only in the league matches for the club.
“I started serious golf during the 2018 season when Kiambu Golf Club supported me to play in the “Golfer of the Year” tournament, now the Kenya Amateur Golf Championship (KAGC) Series. I featured in five tournaments namely Sigona Bowl at Sigona, Mount Kenya Championship in Nyeri, Muthaiga Open, Windsor Classic and Winston Churchill Cup at Thika Sports Club,” he narrates.
Michael Karanga receives the coronation trophy from Kenya Golf Union chairman David Ndung'u (second left) at the Nakuru Golf Club on June 2, 2024. They are flanked by Nakuru Golf Club chairman Titus Lusaka (right) and a club member Kiprotich Kemboi.
Photo credit: Pool
Karanga says he missed the cut at Sigona and Nyeri but managed to make the cut at Muthaiga, Windsor Classic and Winston Churchill.
“I was excited about cutting those events and started practising seriously. I didn’t play that much in 2019, but prepared well for the 2020 season, where I won both Sigona and Mount Kenya Championship.
“However, the remaining events were cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
When golf activities were allowed to resume in 2021, Karanga went all out to win the Order of Merit title.
“I cherished the idea of becoming Kenya’s number one amateur player, so I played six tournaments and won all and led until Nyali’s Adel Balala came firing and won the series and I finished second. I was very disappointed with the idea of having been beaten, so in 2022, I played only four tournaments.”
His breakthrough, however, came in 2023 when a friend, George Mburu, popularly known as “The Mburu”, encouraged and motivated him, a motivation that saw him win 13 tournaments out of the 17 events he played, a record in Kenya.
“I was not just happy because I had broken pro Kopan Timbe’s 12 wins out of 15 tournaments, but I won all those events on under-par scores and in some of them, like Sigona, Mombasa, and Kiambu, I managed to set new course records.”
Karanga said becoming Kenya’s number one amateur golfer and being ranked below 100 out of 70,000 players by the World Amateur Rankings made him realise that he had made a good decision to drop the “Makanga’’ issue and chose golf instead.
Michael Karanga displays his trophy after he won the fourth leg of the 2022 Savannah Golf Tour.
Photo credit: Pool
“My best performance in 2023 made me receive several invitations to play in international tournaments like the British Amateur Championship, where I managed to finish in 279, Egypt where I finished fourth and the Western Open in Cape Town, South Africa, where I was fifth, and in the All Africa Open Championship where I finished 10th.
“I played in Ghana, where I won that country’s amateur open, and finished third in Jordan Open early this year’’.
Karanga said although he started this year’s 2024 season poorly, he is still going for the KAGC order of Merit title at the end of the season.
“I have so far played in the Sigona Bowl where I finished second, missed cut at Muthaiga, then came second and fourth at Windsor and Winston Churchill. I think I was more focused and encouraging Elvis Muigua who I mentored. I am actually happy as he won four tournaments.”
He says playing in international events helped his World Amateur Rankings go below 100 because they offer more points depending on how you play.
“I will play in the British Amateur Championship, then wait for the Asian Tour event at Karen.
“Locally I still believe I can finish top again at the end of the season. I am very happy that I have just retained the Coronation trophy by a good score of eight under par 211.
“I still believe I would have finished even better and probably break the course record set in 2004 by the late James Lorum if the greens were not so hard.
“All said and done, I owe my success in this game of golf to my grandfather “MK” Mwaura and my sponsors Betika who have supported me for two years.”
Karanga says the game of golf can take one to many places as long as one is hard-working and disciplined.
“We have supported Muigua who is playing well at the moment. He is playing good golf at the moment I believe he will go very far in this game.”
Besides playing top-class golf, Karanga is also a businessman.
“I have invested in some business’,” he says, although not willing to disclose the kind of business he is involved with.
In addition, last year, he set up the Michael Karanga Foundation in Ndumberi, where he is mentoring 350 children, mostly from underprivileged families.
“Currently, 30 of them have handicaps, and I am very happy the legendary lady golfer Rose Naliaka gave the foundation some playing kit, which will help us."
“I want those kids to raise and play like me and show Kenyans that golf is not a game for the rich and that anyone can play golf,” said Karanga.
At the foundation’s launch on January 20, this year at the Kiambu Golf Club, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua described Karanga as “a real hustler.”
“Ndumberi has a history of nurturing youngsters to play the game of golf among other sports activities and I must congratulate Michael Karanga for having thought of mobilising the youth in Ndumberi to play the game of golf which has seen Karanga himself rise to be the top golfer in the country,” DP Gachagua said.
Kenya's top amateur golfer Michael Karanga is congratulated by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua during the launch of the Michael Karanga Foundation on January 20, 2024.
Photo credit: Pool
“We will, therefore, support the Michael Karanga Foundation and Karanga himself in his efforts to improve his career.”
Meanwhile, just last weekend, Karanga kept the fire burning when he produced an excellent round of six under par 67 in the final round of the 2024 Coronation Trophy Golf Tournament to retain his title with an all-around total of eight under 211 gross at the par 73 Nakuru Golf Club.
Karanga, who led from start to finish, birdied the second and third holes before crossing to the back nine.
He then managed to pick two birdies at the sixth and eighth before dropping a shot at the par-four 10th, after a brilliant driver to 50 off the green.
But that did not discourage him as he later birded the 12th, eagled the 16th and wound up the round with a birdie at the 18th, to beat the long hitter Daniel Kirangu of Muthaiga by 11 shots.
“It’s so great retaining this title after starting the season badly. I must say the course save for the greens which were hard, was playing and I must congratulate the club management for presenting a good course,” the victorious Karanga said at the weekend.
“I will miss the next event, the Ruiru Open because I would like to travel to Europe to play in the British Amateur Championship,” said Karanga.
“I will try and defend a number of those events in won last,” said the Betika-sponsored player, who was assisted by another golfer, Simon Karari, as his caddie.
“Karari helped a lot with the lines, and I thank him for everything,” Karanga appreciated.
