KBL Head of Spirits AnnJoy Muhoro (L) signs a ceremonial cheque as Karen Country Club’s Ali Mohammed looks on, during the Karen Masters sponsorship unveil.

By AMANDA DAMARIS

Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL), through its Johnnie Walker brand, has today announced a KSh 28 million sponsorship towards the 2019 edition of the KCB Karen Masters Golf Championship.

The tournament will take place starting Thursday 27^th to Sunday 30^th of June 2019 at Karen Country Club; bringing together 152 golfers who include 47 local and regional professionals, four Kenyan amateurs and 100 Sunshine Tour players.

Speaking during the cheque handover ceremony, KBL Head of Spirits AnnJoy Muhoro, noted the significance of the Karen Masters and its emergence as an international golf extravaganza.

“At KBL, we are always delighted to partner with international events such as the Karen Masters, which is part of the Sunshine Tour. The tournament offers us a perfect platform to support the sport of golf in the country as well as connect with our consumers.” she said.

As part of its sponsorship offering, KBL, through the Johnnie Walker brand will host golf fans at the tournament’s village throughout the tournament.

AnnJoy lauded the tournament’s organizers, for the consistent growth of the tournament, to now become the richest tournament in the Sunshine Tour.

“I would like to congratulate the Karen Country Club on the tournament’s consistent growth, to now become the richest event on the Sunshine Tour. We have planned for fantastic golf during the day, followed by world class entertainment in the evening, courtesy of Johnnie Walker,” she added.

This will include music concerts on Friday and Saturday featuring renowned stars from Kenya and around the continent such a Nyashinski, Naiboi and Heavy-K.

Their highly-anticipated performances will be backed up by top DJs’ performances over the duration of the tournament.

Speaking at the same event, Ali Mohammed of the Karen Country Club, expressed delight at having KBL on board for the Tournament.

“This year we are happy to once again welcome the Kenya Breweries Limited, through the Johnnie Walker brand, as the official alcoholic beverage partner.” He said.

Ali concluded by urging fans to come out in large numbers to enjoy four days of great golf.

“I want to urge all Kenyans to turn up in large numbers to support our local golfers and enjoy four days of great golf.”

Daily and seasonal tickets are currently on sale at www.ticketsasa.com for Ksh. 500 and Ksh. 1500, respectively.

Today’s Cheque presentation

By DANIELLA APIYO

Safaricom today announced a Ksh 5 million sponsorship for the 3^rd Edition of Karen Masters Tournament scheduled to take place from 27^th to 30^th June 2019.

As the official digital communication infrastructure sponsor, the amount will cater for a fully kitted media Centre, internet connectivity to; the Players’ Cyber Café, Tournament Office, Score Recorders Office and Event Management Office for the duration of the 4 day golf tournament. The sponsorship will also be used to support the junior golfers’ shootout.

“We are happy to be part of the third edition of Karen Masters’ Tournament and have noted that this year’s event is fully sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour. I believe that our contribution to last year’s event made it a success and set the stage for the extended partnership,” said Jannet Atika, Director – Customer Operations, Safaricom.

Karen Country Club have partnered with the Sunshine Tour in South Africa to bring around 100 of their top-ranking players to Karen next month to compete against 32 of Kenya’s finest, as well as players from other African countries, to give a field of 152 professional players and 4 amateurs.

“We are excited to have Safaricom on board for the third year running, especially because they will focus on the junior shoot out competition on Saturday. This is an important avenue for our young golfers to mingle and mix with the pros and learn from them as they work on their journey to dominate the sport in future,” said Andy Watt, Tournament Director, Karen Masters.

Defending Champion Michael Palmer is expected to defend his title and will be joined by nine of the top ten Sunshine Tour players; Daniel Van Tonder (1st), JC Ritchie (2nd), Callum Mowat (3rd), Garrick Higgo (5th), Martin Rohwer (6th), Thriston Lawrence (7th), Neil Schietekat (8th), Jacques Blaauw (9th) and Steve Surry (10th). The Kenyan charge will be led by Dismas Indiza, Greg Snow, Simon Ngige, CJ Wangai, Riz Charania and Mohit Mediratta.

The 2019 Karen Masters will offer a prize kitty of KES 15 million, making it one of the most lucrative tournaments on the Sunshine Tour.