Kenya Open returns to Muthaiga

What you need to know:

  • Besides defending champion Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg, a number of past Barclays Kenya Open golf Championship winners and European Tour players will be parading at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club course from Thursday.
  • The Open returns to its original venue Muthaiga after a five year absence.
  • The past winners will be seeking a share of the 220,000 total prize kitty where the winner will take home 32,000 Euro plus a chance to join the big league (Road to Dubai’s European Tour).

Besides defending champion Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg, a number of past Barclays Kenya Open golf Championship winners and European Tour players will be parading at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club course from Thursday.

The Open returns to its original venue Muthaiga after a five year absence.

The past winners will be seeking a share of the 220,000 total prize kitty where the winner will take home 32,000 Euro plus a chance to join the big league (Road to Dubai’s European Tour).

During last year’s Open at Karen Country Club, Soderberg fired rounds of 67, 68, 68 and 67 for an impressive 18 under par 270.

But unlike many past Kenya Open champions who usually climb the ladder to the big league, Soderberg did not perform well in the remaining part of the Challenge Tour hence his return to Kenya to try his luck once again in this year’s series.

The Barclays Kenya Open is once again the first event in the 2017 Challenge Tour series, a development tour which has over the years produced top players.

Other past winners list in the 2017 list of participants at Muthaiga, are South Africa’s Jake Roos, who won in 2014 also at Karen, and England’s Gary Boyd(2009) and Robert Dinwiddie (2010).

Soderberg is entered through category one (2016) Challenge Tour or “Road to Oman’’ events winners were other players in that category include Alvaro Velassco of Spain, France’s Adrien Saddier and Sweden’s Simon Forsstrom.

There are other players placed in category five (leading 25 players in the Tour Qualifying School). Listed in this category are players like Max Orrin from Northern Ireland and Germany’s Sebastian Hiesle who tied in fourth on 11 under par last year.

Those, plus many budding pros are expected to battle it out in the event which marks its 49th anniversary and which has been a Challenge Tour event since 1991.

A field of 156 in all including 22 Kenyan pros and six local amateurs will line up at Muthaiga in the morning of Thursday. But before the first round, there will be two Pro-Am events on Tuesday and Wednesday where some of those players will be teaming up with local amateurs mostly business executive from the various corporate sponsors.

Barclays Bank of Kenya has been the title sponsor since 2011 having signed a contract with the Open organisers Kenya Open Golf Limited, a contract worth Sh80 million over a period of five years which was followed by a further Sh90 million three year deal in 2016.

Barclays is being supported this year by Nation Media Group, Coca Cola(Keringet), Safaricom, Kenya Breweries, AAR Healthcare, DSTV, and Kenya Tourism Board. So far 40 players from the Challenge Tour have arrived.

This year the 156 players will come from 28 countries in three continents.

Entry fee for spectators during the Open, will be Sh500 daily ticket and Sh1,000 for seasonal ticket. There will be a village area at the 2017 Kenya Open where spectators can enjoy food and drinks. The village will also host screens for fans to follow the action and scores.