Ladies European Tour 2019. Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open, Golf Club de Terramar, Sitges, Spain. 26-29 September 2019. Meghan MacLaren of England during the second round. Credit: Tristan Jones

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

The Magical Kenya Ladies Open Pro-Am tournament, to be held tomorrow at the par-72 PGA Baobab course at Vipingo Ridge and presented by M-Pesa, has attracted an impressive field of 120 golfers setting the stage for a grand opening to the tournament.

Astrid Vayson De Pradenne from France will get the Pro-Am underway when she leads her team of Patrick Obath, Terry Obath and Francis Okwara off the first tee at 7:45am; while Spain’s Noemi Jimenez Martin will lead the team of Zawadi Safari, Susan Stokes and Christine Ocktoch off the tee at the tenth at the same time.

Ladies European Tour Order of Merit current leader, and four-time Ladies European Tour winner, Marianne Skarpnord from Norway, will lead her team of Dominic Makau, Solomon Angutsa and Wilfred Achilla off the tee at the first at 8:55am at the first; while runner-up in the Order of Merit, Esther Henseleit from Germany, gets underway at 8:05am at the tenth tee in the company of Pauline Gachihi, Sheena Round-Turner and Anis Popat.

Meanwhile, two-time Ladies European Tour champion, 25-year-old Meghan MacLaren from England, will lead her team of Kerry Venturini, Eunice Koome and Margret Thande off the tee at 9:15am at the first.

Tiger Woods’ niece, Cheyenne Woods, will tee off at the first in the company of Martha Vincent, Jean Ngengi and Lawrence Kimathi as she embarks on the challenge to seal her maiden LET event victory in Vipingo. Three-time LET champion, 21-year-old Aditi Ashok from India (who won her first LET event at 18), tees off at the 10^th tee at 7:55am alongside Alysa Jamal, Elizabeth Kimkung and Hanif Walli.

Three African players, Maha Haddioui from Morocco, Georgia Oboh from Nigeria and Stacy Lee Bregmann from South Africa, have been selected to feature in the Pro-Am. Haddioui will lead her team of Sarah Hoare, Phyllis Kimbo and Liz Gitobu off the tee at the 10^th at 8:45am while Oboh leads her team of Mary Wambui, Alice Wahome and Naomi Wamboi off the 10^th tee at 9:15am. Lee Bregmann will tee off at 9:25am Gladys Mutisya, Haresh Bhatia and Cheryl Rautenbach.

The Pro-Am tournament will culminate in a golf clinic for 26 junior golfers who will be coached by four LET players. The 26 junior golfers will be divided into two groups of 20 and six, and will be taken through golf basics on chipping and putting.

The junior golfers will be coached by four-time LET winner, Linda Wessberg from Sweden, two-time LET winner Meghan MacLaren, two-time LET winner, Felicity Johnson and Nigerian Georgia Oboh.

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.

Naomi Wafula in action at the Great Rift Valley Lodge & Golf Resort Safari Tour tournament.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Kenya will be represented by five golfers at the 2019 Magical Kenya Ladies Open staged on Vipingo Ridge’s PGA Baobab Course from 5th to 8th December 2019. Sponsored by Magical Kenya and Safaricom’s M-Pesa, the tournament will mark the first time the Ladies European Tour will be played in East Africa.
The five Kenyan players are Nyali Golf Club’s lady professional Bhavi Shah and amateurs Naomi Wafula, Agnes Nyakio, Mercy Nyanchama and Margaret Njoki. A spot check on the five ladies made for encouraging reading as they put the final touches to their preparations ahead of the tournament next week.
Golf Park’s amateur Naomi Wafula, fresh from playing at the Great Rift Valley Lodge & Golf Resort leg of the Safari Tour golf series, expressed her delight in getting the opportunity to play at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open. “It is a great feeling to be invited to play at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open. It will be a great learning opportunity as I look to turn Pro in the near future.”
Speaking on her preparations, she said: “I am just back from playing in the Safari Tour at the Great Rift Valley Lodge & Golf Resort. I’m currently working on my short game and look forward to a great showing at Vipingo Ridge.”
Vet Lab’s Mercy Nyanchama said “I am proud to represent Kenya in the competition and I look forward to playing alongside professionals from all over the world.”
“With the Ladies KGU calendar done for the year, I have been playing in several captain prize tournaments as well as getting several training rounds at my club in preparation for the MKLO. I am hoping to play well and looking to learn from the professionals as much as I can,” she added.
Sigona Golf Club’s Agnes Nyakio noted that the Magical Kenya Ladies Open is a big step up from what she has been accustomed to. “This will be the first time that I will be playing against professionals, apart from the few Pro-Ams I have played in, so it will be a big step up for me. As much as I have been working on my game, I have also put a lot of emphasis on my mental aspect, this being the Magical Kenya Ladies Open.”
Nyali Golf Club’s Bhavi Shah has so far played in two Safari Tour events in Nyali and at the Royal Nairobi Golf Club against male professionals in preparation for the event.
In a statement from the Kenya Ladies Golf Union, Chairperson Phyllis Kimbo said: “We are delighted that our Kenyan players have this chance to play with and learn from the best of the best. It really is a tremendous opportunity to be exposed to world-class golf and they will be able to interact with and pick up tips from the Ladies European Tour professionals. The tournament will motivate junior players and we encourage everyone to go and watch this wonderful event.”
“Kenya is honoured to host this prestigious ladies’ event and the Kenya Ladies Golf Union is extremely proud to have partnered with the Ministry of Sports, Arts and Heritage, the Ladies European Tour, Vipingo Ridge, M-Pesa and promoters U.COM. We are looking forward to an exciting week of top ladies golf,” she added.