CONSENSUS REACHED, IT’S 22 LOCAL PROS AND 46 FOREIGNERS FOR 2017 KCB KAREN MASTERS
From Left: Tournament Director Andy Watt, Karen Club Chairman Lawrence Kimathi, KCB Group COO Sam Makome and Angela Mwirigi KCB Group Marketing and Communications Director during the KCB Karen Masters Launch today.
By AMANDA DAMARIS
Close to 70 local and PGA professional golfers have signed up for the upcoming KCB Karen Masters, a first-of-its-kind tournament in Kenya that anchors KCB Bank’s golf sponsorship for this year.
KCB Bank today committed up to Ksh 30 million for the KCB Karen Masters, highlighting the lender’s continued resolve to support sports in the region. The move will also see the bank sponsor several tournaments and club nights in golf courses across the country.
The inaugural KCB Karen Masters golf tournament is scheduled to take place in March 17-19, 2017 at the Karen Country Club where 46 PGA Pros and 22 local pros will showcase what has made them world class professional golfers. Of these, 40 Pros are drawn from the European Challenge Tour.
Initially there was a section of local professional players who intended to boycott the competition due to limited slots for the home players, but the Professional Golfer of Kenya (PGK) quelled the issue saying they had no say in an invitational tournament and announced that 22 local pros would take part in the inaugural event.
Already three pros have qualified for the competition, two by virtue of making the cut during last year’s Kenya Open Golf Championships and one by virtue of being the best professional in the recent months.
The other 19 local pros will be picked from performances in the on going qualifiers for Kenya Open Golf Championships.
KCB said the intended strong field of golfers drawn from all over the world indicates that Kenya is featuring prominently on the global golfing map. “KCB will continue being at the center of supporting the growth of this sport. We believe in supporting great ideas that will enable the country’s progress,” said KCB Group Chief Operating Officer Samuel Makome.