Muthaiga Golf Club’s Greg Snow with the Safari Tour trophy at Thika Greens Golf Resort.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Muthaiga Golf Club’s Greg Snow, ended his four month wait for a Safari tour title by lifting the latest leg at Thika Greens Golf Resort today, after playing rounds of 67, 73, 72, 71 for an impressive gross of 5-under par, 283.

Snow, who last lifted a 2019/20 Safari Tour title in the opening leg, at the Nyali Golf Club in August, came into the seventh leg with a point to prove and wasted no time in doing so. He got his campaign under way with a score of 5-under par, 67 to give him the lead after round one, a lead he would hold on to till the end.

He came into the last round holding a two stroke lead over Thika Golf Club’s Simon Ngige, with the two playing off the same group. Snow shot two birdies; on the par-5, second and par-5, eighteenth, three bogeys; on the eighth, tenth and twelfth and one eagle on the par-4, fifth for a round score of 1-under par, 71, one shot better than Barclays Bank sponsored Ngige who managed two birdies and two bogeys, for a gross score of 2-under par, 286.

Speaking after his win, Greg mentioned how he enjoyed playing at the Thika Greens Golf Club while thanking his sponsor, Johnnie Walker for the continued support.

“I was in great form over the four days, I enjoyed myself and consistently played some great golf, it feels great to finally get my hands on a Safari tour title after a long wait. I still have a bit to work on before Muthaiga and I look forward to the challenge. I want to thank Johnnie Walker and KBL for their continued support over this Safari tour,” he said.

He added: “It was down to fatigue, I played a lot of golf towards the end of the year at the Sunshine and Safari tours and I was simply burnt out. I got some good rest over the holidays and I am now ready for the new year.”

David Wakhu finished in third, after playing rounds of 74, 74, 69 and 72 for gross score of 1-over par, 289.

Despite not making the cut at Thika Greens, Dismas Indiza still leads the ‘Road to the 2020 Magical Kenya Open’ standings on 290.6 points, Royal Nairobi Golf Club’s Eric Ooko is in second on 272.3 after picking up 40 points in this leg. Thika Golf Club’s Simon Ngige is in fourth on 262.6 points, Greg Snow’s 50 points in Thika takes him up to fourth on 250 points.

For his efforts, Snow pocketed Sh150,000 which includes a Sh45,000 bonus for a gross score of 3-under par or better. Second placed Ngige took home Sh 70,000 with third placed David Wakhu won Sh56,000.

Safari tour action now moves to the Muthaiga Golf Club from January 11 to 15 for the eighth leg, with four legs left on the calendar expect the competition to hit a crescendo as players battle for the eight available slots to the 2020 Magical Kenya Open.

Safari Tour Calendar 2019/20

Event 1 Nyali Golf and Country Club: 24th – 28th August 2019 (Winner: Greg Snow)

Event 2 Uganda Open:10th – 14th Sept 2019 (Winner: Madalitso Muthiya)

Event 3 Royal Nairobi Golf Club: 12th – 16th October 2019 (Winner: Tony Omuli)

Event 4 Entebbe Open (Entebbe Golf Club): 30th Oct – 2nd Nov 2019 (Winner: Jastas Madoya)

Event 5 Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort Open: 6th – 9th Nov 2019 (Winner: Dismas Indiza)

Event 6 Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort: 23rd – 27th Nov2019 (Winner: Dismas Indiza)

Event 7 Thika Greens: 4th – 8th January 2020 (Winner: Greg Snow)

Event 8 Muthaiga Golf Club: 11th – 15th January 2020

Event 9 Sigona Golf Club: 25th – 29th January 2020

Event 10 Kitante Open (Uganda Golf Club): 12th – 15th February 2020

Event 11 Karen Country Club: 22nd -26th February 2020

2019 Magical Kenya Open, Karen Country Club, 12^th – 15^th March 2020.

CS Tourism Najib Balala (right) takes a selfie with US golfer Cheyenne Woods (right) during the Magical Kenya Ladies Open tournament at Vipingo Ridge.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

The Government, through the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage, is intent on utilising sports to continue profiling Kenya as the preferred sports, tourism and investment destination in the region.

Speaking at the end of the third round of the 2019 Magical Kenya Ladies Open presented by M-Pesa, Sports Principal Secretary (PS), Amb. Kirimi Kaberia, said that sports is increasingly becoming a global marketing tool via television broadcasting, making it a ready avenue for Kenya to showcase its diverse landscape and offering the country great international exposure.

“It is my belief that this kind of event, and other events like the Safari Rally, the World Under 20 Championships and many other activities that have taken place here will make a very big difference and as we go forward, more value is accrued to the country,” he said.

He added that there is a deliberate effort to build capacity among young, local broadcasters and content producers, to empower them with skills to produce content from global sporting events that are being held in Kenya for local and global consumption.

“For us, this is a very important event. You can see sport is becoming more and more a production for television. So, we are trying to work with our young people to create a wider base of understanding and skills so that we are able to continue producing these kinds of events for both local and international consumption,” he said.

Commenting on his impression of the inaugural Magical Kenya Ladies Open tournament, the PS expressed delight with the level of organisation and response that the event have gotten, adding that the occasion has provided Kenya with great international exposure.

“It is incredible. There is great response from the players that we have got here, there is also a great response from the local golfers. Looking at it from the outside, Kenya has had a wonderful exposure and it is great value,” he said.

He added that the tournament helped demystify the myth that professional golf in the country is a sport only for the few, saying that the participation of the local players was an inspiration to other lady golfers in the country.

“Golf has been viewed as an exclusive event, something that happens only out there for a specific group of people. Now we are seeing more and more inclusivity coming in. It (the Magical Kenya Ladies Open) is a ladies’ event, we have not had another ladies’ event at this level in the region and it is a very good thing that we have one now,” he said.

He added: “I think it is also a chance for our young, upcoming talent to grow and experience this. Seeing people like Wafula and others playing in the field was incredible. If you talk to those girls now, they are excited, they are ready and are raring to go and it gives us an even better chance to prepare them for more going forward.”

The Magical Kenya Ladies Open is sponsored by Magical Kenya, M-Pesa, Capital FM, KCB, Aquamist, East African Breweries, Turkish Airlines, Vipingo Development, KPA and Wilken.