KENYA GOLFERS TO GET CASH AWARDS FOR MAKING CUT AT OPEN, KTB BOOSTS EVENT WITH SH 50M

KENYA GOLF GUIDE

KTB CEO Dr. Betty Radier (2nd right) hands over a sponsorship cheque to the KOGL chairman Mr. Peter Kanyago (Left) looking on are KOGL director Kathleen Kihanya (2nd left) and KTB PR Manager Wausi Walya.

By DAMARIS AMANDA

Organisers of this year’s Kenya Open Golf Championships have promised cash rewards to local professional who will make the cut and finish in the top ten at this year’s edition of the event scheduled to be held at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club between March 22 and 25.

Speaking during a cheque presentation at the Kenya Tourism Board offices on Friday, Kenya Open Golf Limited Chairman, Peter Kanyago, said the board had decided to take the approach with the hope of rewarding the players to boost their morale and in return enable them to produce better results than they have in previous years.

This year we have challenged the Kenyan pros taking part at the Kenya Open by offering incentives which we hope will lead to better performances compared to previous years. In this regard, whoever makes the cut will get Sh 100,000 and whoever finishes among the top ten will walk away with Sh 500,000,” he said.

The cash incentive will be over and above the money which the players will earn from the tournament’s overall prize kitty of Sh 62.5 million; the biggest on the 2018 European Challenge Tour. The overall winner at the Kenya Open will walk away with approximately Sh10 million in prize money.

A total of 156 players are expected to tee off on Thursday morning at the Muthaiga Golf Club, among them a contingent of 26 local players, made up of 22 Professionals and 4 amateurs.

With the significant increase in prize money, the tournament has attracted an array of top golf players from around the globe, with the likes of 2009 Kenya Open winner, Gary Boyd, 2010 winner Robert Dinwiddle and 2016 champion, Sebastian Soderberg.

Other notable names include two-time Challenge Tour winner, Richard McEvoy (who won the 2017 Scottish Hydro Challenge tournament and the 2005 Panasonic Panama Open tourney) and three-time Challenge Tour and one-time European Tour champion, Roope Kakko (who has won the Madeira Islands Open tournament (twice); the National Bank of Oman Golf Classic tournament and the Volvo Finnish Open).

The Kenyan charge will be led by the likes of Dismas Indiza, Riz Charania, Simon Ngige and Stefan Andersen. The first three qualified by virtue of making the cut during last year’s tournament with South African-based Stefan Andersen qualifying through a wild card pick.

The rest of the Kenyan field was decided through a 5-leg qualification process, which the likes of Kenya’s most successful player at the Kenya Open Jacob Okello, Muthaiga’s Greg Snow, Great Rift’s Justus Madoya and another 16 players qualifying.

David Odhiambo of Nyanza Golf Club, Sigona’s Mohit Mediratta and Jeff Kubwa completed the list of 22 after qualifying a pre-qualification tournament played at the VetLab on Thursday, 15th March.

Preparations for the tournament are in top-gear with final preparations being put in place ahead of the next week tournament. The Government of Kenya, through the National Sports Fund and the Kenya Tourism Board, has sponsored the tournament to the tune of KShs 100 Million this year with both entities giving KShs 50 Million each towards the tournament.

This year’s tournament will feature special sitting around the green of the par-3, 13th hole at the Muthaiga Golf Club – which will give fans an opportunity to intimately follow the action during play.

The main tournament, which tees-off on Thursday next week, will be preceded by two Pro-Am events on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Muthaiga Golf Club that will be sponsored by the Kenya Open Golf Limited and the Barclays Bank of Kenya respectively. cheap nike air max 95 trainers cheap nike air max 95 trainers

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