Italian Guido Migliozzi kises the Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship trophy after he was crowned champion at the tournament.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Twenty two year old Italian professional golfer, Guido Migliozzi is the 2019 Magical Kenya Open winner. Migliozzi claimed the 2019 title after returning a score of 2 under par, 69 for round four to take his overall score to 14-under par 268.

For his efforts over the last four days of competition, Miglozzi pocketed a total of Euros 183,330 (Equivalent to over KShs. 20.5 Million). 

The Italian started his campaign at the 2019 Magical Kenya Open with a score of 4-under par after round one, following it up with a 2-under par score on Friday to successfully make the CUT to play at the weekend. It was at round three that the Italian turned on the style with an impressive 7-under par score to give him a share of the lead going into the final round.

Playing in the last group of the day, Migliozzi went toe to toe with fellow day three leader Adri Arnaus as well as Louis De Jager, Justin Harding, Gaganjeet Bhullar and Kalle Samooja, who all had a taste of the lead in the course of a thrilling final day, at the Karen Country Club.

The Italian had a shaky start to his round, dropping his first shot at the par-3, 4th, following this up with back to back birdies at the 6th & 7th. A further dropped shot at the 9th however saw him return a front nine score of par,35 for a three way tie at the top of the leader board. 

It was at the back nine, where the 22-year-old would prevail, starting off with a birdie on the par-4, 10th and another at the 12th to hold a one shot lead. At this point, the crowd and pressure was building up steadily, Miglozzi went on to show some steady nerves, to hold par in his last six holes to take the title.

Speaking after his round, Migliozzi expressed his joy in winning the tournament and relished the feeling of playing at the 2019 Magical Kenya Open.

“I enjoyed the last two days very much. The pressure was a lot and I’m happy about how I have played under pressure, also with my putting game that I worked a lot on. There was a lot of pressure on the course, obviously. After the birdie at the 12th I was leading but it was tough. I just kept patient towards the end, that was it.” He said.

President Uhuru Kenyatta helps Guido Migliozzi wear the 2019 Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship winner’s jacket after the Italian was crowned champion at the tournament.

Commenting on his round on the day, “I just kept patient through the day and my second shot on the 18th was a very nice shot.”

“Yesterday I went to the left at the 18th with a two iron, today I went with a four iron, just to be sure that I don’t go left and I had the perfect distance for an eight iron, it was really nice. Easy two putts to win.” He said.

He concluded by thanking his team members “I would like to thank every part of my team.”

Migliozzi follows in the footsteps of Major Champions Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam and Trevor Immelman in winning this tournament, and becomes the second consecutive Italian winner of the Kenya Open, after Lorenzo Gagli last year. 

Adri Arnaus, alongside South African duo of Justin Harding and Louis De Jager had to settle for joint second, a shot behind Migliozzi, on a score of 15-under par, 269. India’s Bhullar Gaganjeet finished a further shot behind on 14-over for a fifth place finish.

Kenya’s Simon Ngige finished as the best placed Kenyan, after playing a round of 2-under par on the day to take his total to 5-under par, 279, to see him tied for 25th, alongside the 2016 Kenya Open winner Sebastian Soderberg. The other Kenyan to have made the cut, Justus Madoya finished tied for 72nd, with an overall score of 5 over par, 289.

Meanwhile Scotland’s Robert Macintyre, shot an impressive round of 8-under par, 63, the best of the tournament, placing him tied for 17th on an overall score of 7-under par, 277. The 2018 winning Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn, was tied for 12th place on an overall score of 8-under par.

South Africa’s Louis Da Jager in action at the Karen Country Club on Round two of the 2019 Magical Kenya Golf Championship.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

South Africa’s Louis de Jager played a round of 5-under par 66 during the second round of the 2019 Magical Kenya Open, to storm to the top of the leader board, with a total score of 12-under par.

Louis, who started the round sharing the lead with England’s Jack Singh Brar on 7-under par, wasted no time in making his intentions clear. Starting from the 10th tee, the South African started his round with back to back birdies, on the par-4, tenth and par-5, eleventh, following these up with further birdies on the thirteenth and eighteenth to finish his first nine without dropping a shot for a half way score of 4-under par, 32.

His next nine holes offered a stiffer challenge, as he dropped a couple of shots at the par-3, second and par-4, fifth. He would however recover well with a birdies on the third, sixth and ninth holes for a round score of 5-under par and a total score of 12-under par after the two rounds played. Four strokes ahead of Jack Singh Brar and Spain’s Adri Arnaus who are tied for second slot.

Jack lost his grip on top spot after playing a round of one-under par, 70 following two bogeys and three birdies, with Arnaus shooting a round of 3-under par on the day to follow up his 5-under par score in the first round.

Speaking after his round, De Jagger was delighted with his start and mentioned that he was getting used to the feel of the course as it was very similar to the conditions in South Africa.

“I started off birdie-birdie and it got me in the right mindset for the round, I kept it going, kept it on the fairways, kept hitting the greens and made a few putts. I am getting used to the feel of the Kikuyu grass and the ball travels the same as back home in Pretoria, distance wise, so it really feels like we’re back home.” He said.

On his game plan for the coming rounds, he said, “My game plan is not too aggressive. The most important thing is hitting the fairways and hitting the greens because the greens are quite small.  If you hit the greens you’ve always got a good birdie chance.”

The CUT to play in round three and four was applied at 2 over par, 144 which saw a total of 79 golfers from the initial field of 144, progress to the next rounds. Among them, Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn, France’s Romain Langasque and the 2015 Kenya Open champion, Sebastian Soderberg and the Kenyan duo of Justus Madoya and Simon Ngige.

Among the notable absentees are the 2018 Kenya Open winner Lorenzo Gagli, who played a round of 1-over par to take his total score to 3-over par. Others are Korean internet sensation Hu Sung Choi and Kenya’s Dismas Indiza and Greg Snow.

Round three action tees off at 7:10 AM, with Sweden’s Simon Forsstrom getting the action underway, as the players now battle it out for a stake of the 1.1 Million Euros (Kshs. 126 Million) prize kitty.