Kenya Open eyes European Tour circuit

Railways Golf Club’s Alfred Nandwa tees off during Barclays Kenya Open Golf Tournament on March 23 at Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO | NMG 

By CHARLES GACHERU

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Summary

• The PGA European Tour operates three different events — the main European Tour, which is the top elite tournament for golf professionals in Europe and beyond, the Challenge Tour that is designed to help top amateurs transition to higher echelons of the game and the Senior Tour for those golf pros 50 years and over.
• The 2018 European Tour calendar included 51 events in 30 countries and featured new tournaments in Belgium and Oman.
• In Africa, the Tour visits Mauritius for the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open with a prize fund of €1 million and Rabat, Morocco for the Trophee Hassan II, Royal Dar es Salaam with a prize fund of €2.5 million.

Pending the doting of ‘Is’ and crossing of ‘Ts’, the 2019 Kenya Open Golf Championship will be played as part of the main European Tour circuit — a huge step up from the European Challenge Tour. Speaking after visiting the European Tour offices in Wentworth, Surrey, UK, last week, Kenya Open Golf Ltd (KOGL) chairman Peter Kanyago confirmed that negotiations were at an advanced stage.

“I led the board of KOGL to Wentworth and we engaged the top leadership of both the European Tour and the European Challenge Tour as well as various officers within the Tour. We held several meetings and I can confirm, pending contract signing, that the 2019 Kenya Open will be played as part of the European Tour,” he said. “This is a big step for sports in Kenya and an even bigger move for golf. We also believe, and case studies support us, that this will be huge for golf tourism in Kenya.”

The PGA European Tour operates three different events — the main European Tour, which is the top elite tournament for golf professionals in Europe and beyond, the Challenge Tour that is designed to help top amateurs transition to higher echelons of the game and the Senior Tour for those golf pros 50 years and over.

The 2018 European Tour calendar included 51 events in 30 countries and featured new tournaments in Belgium and Oman. In Africa, the Tour visits Mauritius for the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open with a prize fund of €1 million and Rabat, Morocco for the Trophee Hassan II, Royal Dar es Salaam with a prize fund of €2.5 million. In South Africa the Tour makes three regular Tour stops at the Joburg Open (€1.13 million), BMW SA Open – hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni (€1.029 million) and Tshwane Open (€1.029 million).

The fourth stop in South Africa is for the $7.5 million Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player. This event is part of the Rolex Series, which includes the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, the Italian Open, the HNA Open de France, the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation, the Aberdeen Standard Investment Scottish Open, the Turkish Airlines Open, the Nedbank Golf Challenge and the final DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. Each of these events has a prize fund of $7 million with the exception of the Nedbank Golf Challenge and the DP World Tour that offer $7.5 million and $8 million respectively.

An event in Kenya allows the European Tour to have the much-needed presence in Africa.

“Whilst the Tour has been present in South Africa, I believe Kenya will be an exciting addition to the European Tour. We have had a long association with the European Challenge Tour, since 1991 to be precise and we have organised the Kenya Open for 50 years,” Mr Kanyago added. “By joining the main European Tour, we join this global network of events that will allow us to showcase Kenya on a global scale, improve the standards of golf in Kenya and East Africa. In turn, the European Tour gains an event rich in heritage and character.”

Members of the European Tour who may one day visit and play in Kenya include the likes of Italian Francesco Molinari — winner of the BMW PGA Championship last week at Wentworth, Ulsterman Rory McIlroy, Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Ian Poulter, Spaniard Sergio Garcia, India’s Shubhankar Sharma, Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, South African golfers such as Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman, George Coetzee, Haydn Porteous, Charl Schwartzel and Dylan Frittelli, among others.

“We are leaving the Challenge Tour having achieved a lot and reached the top of that Tour, we are delving into the main European Tour from an entry-level point, but with much promise for more to come going forward,” says Mr Kanyago. “This is an exciting time for Kenyan golf and Kenyan sport.”