British Par 3 Championship favourite Aaron Rai sealed a classy victory at the Barclays Kenya Open this week, which has seen him rise to the number one spot on the Challenge Tour.
The special moment was made all the more emotional as Aaron’s Kenyan-born mother tearfully embraced him on the 18th green. It was a great end to a great week for the Englishman, who’s final round haul of seven birdies and a score of 65, saw his 17-under-par total better his nearest rival, Adrien Saddier, by three shots.
His final round was even watched by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, and Aaron responded with a presidential display of golf, quickly catching and overhauling the leaders with ease.
His Kenyan roots saw him adopted by the home crowd in Nairobi and Aaron was ecstatic to win the tournament, telling the European Tour: “It feels amazing. It couldn’t have been a better event to win, with it being Kenya, and with the support of all the Kenyan people as well. There’s a big Indian population here, and it was amazing to have my mum here.
“It’s been an amazing week and something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
It’s fantastic news for Aaron as he narrowly missed out on a European Tour card last year when he finished 18th on the Road to Oman. The 22-year-old’s had a great start to 2017, and now is sitting pretty at the top of the tree, albeit with 26 tournaments still to come.
To see a range of established stars and up-and-comers like Aaron, register for tickets for the 2017 British Par 3 Championship here, http://britishpar3.com/booking/event-ticket/2017.