Naomi Angela Wafula is breaking barriers on Kenya’s closely mowed golf courses.
At 28, Naomi is not only Kenya’s second-ever female professional golfer but also the first woman to join the Professional Golfers of Kenya (PGK) and she is redefining the course of women’s golf in East Africa.
The first ever lady golfer to turn professional in Kenya was Naomi’s mentor and auntie, Rose Naliaka.
Naomi has broken several barriers in her nascent golfing career.
"I hope the Kenya of tomorrow is one where young girls grow up believing there are no careers or dreams that are off limits because of their gender."
She became the first woman to make the cut at a Ladies European Tour. She is the first woman to win a men’s golf event in Kenya in 2023, and in 2026 she became the first East African woman to earn a full Sunshine Ladies Tour card.
“I was also the first Kenyan woman to reach a +3 handicap,” she says while hoisting her aunt’s mentorship and the nudge for space in a patriarchal society.
Naomi was introduced to the sport by her aunt at the age of six.
“My aunt Rose Naliaka took me from the village and brought me to Nairobi. My mum was struggling to raise four children as a single mother,” says Naomi, who was an all-round athlete at Makini Schools in Nairobi.
Auntie Rose taught me tennis, swimming, and eventually golf. I would follow her to tournaments, and that’s how it all started.”
However, her rise was far from smooth. At one point, she sold chips to make ends meet in the streets of Kitale.
She says her story is proof that women belong in every space, including those that men dominate.
In golf, she competed alongside men, and reckons she saw it as an opportunity to prove how far women can reach.
“I hope the Kenya of tomorrow is one where young girls grow up believing there are no careers or dreams that are off limits because of their gender,” she says.
Nothing comes on a silver platter, and, for Naomi, she is facing challenges such as the high costs associated with travel to golf tournaments and the difficulty of securing sponsorships.
She believes that if she continues playing and performing well, sponsors will come her way.
Despite these challenges, Naomi finds joy in travel, meeting new people, and experiencing different cultures, which help her to stay motivated. “Now that I have joined the tour, the PGK Tour, I believe that sponsors will come.”
–Larry Ngala