Kenya Open postponed

The 2020 Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship presented by Absa, which was scheduled for next Thursday at Karen Country Club, has been postponed to a later date.

The sad news for Kenya’s golfing fraternity was announced by the Kenya Open Golf Limited (KOGL) chairman, Peter Kanyago Friday following a directive from the Kenyan government to postpone all conferences and meetings of an international nature in the country for the next 30 days, due to the on-going global threat from the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19).

In the brief statement, Kanyago said, "The Kenya Open Golf Limited respects the decision of the Government of Kenya and supports all efforts that safeguard our country against the possible entry of the Coronavirus."

He said he had conveyed the decision to the European Tour, which had assured him of their full support.

“We will be announcing the new dates for the championship in due course. We will meanwhile be sending out further communications to all our stakeholders," Kanyago said.

He said all the arrangements had been put in place at Karen and that includes broadcasting equipment by SuperSport, which has the pay TV rights for the Open. On the other hand, Kanyago said some of the European Tour officials, who were to be in charge of the event, including European Tour Tournament, Director Paul Carrigill arrived on Thursday night ready for the event.

A field of 144 players including eight local professionals and six amateurs were due to fight for the Sh20 million winners prize.

Meanwhile, a statement from the European Tour said the Tour respects the decision made by the Kenyan government in such difficult times.

The Chief Executive of the European Tour Kelly Pelley said:, “We understand and totally respect the decision made by the Government of Kenya in these difficult times. We are looking into a possibility of rescheduling the tournament at some point later in the season. But that remains simply a possibility right- we have no definitive plans at this stage," said Pelley.

He, however, thanked President Uhuru Kenyatta and the government for their unwavering support of the Open.

“I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank President Uhuru Kenya and the Kenyan government for their unwavering support, alongside Kenya Open Golf Limited chairman Peter Kanyago and Tournament Director Patrick Obath for their strenuous efforts and commitment. We look forward to returning to Kenya in due course," added Pelley.

This is the first time the Open, which started in 1967, has been postponed because of such or similar circumstance. In 2003, the event was cancelled due to lack of sponsorship. The Open, however, is the third event being postponed because of the Coronavirus.

Two weeks ago, the European Tour announced the postponement of the Volvo China Open and the Maybank Malaysia Open, which were to be held soon after the Magical Kenya Open.

From the Commercial Bank of Qatar Masters, the players will hence fly to New Delhi India for the Hero Indian Open which starts on March 19 to 22, while the next big event after that will be the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play Championship in Austin Texas USA from March 25 to 29.

A big number, if not all the international players are currently in Doha, Qatar, for the Commercial Bank of Qatar Masters, which is also part of the European Tour series, which started on Thursday and whose final round is set for Sunday.

A number of them were expected in Nairobi at the weekend ready for registration and practice. Meanwhile by Friday afternoon, the European Tour had already removed the Magical Kenya Open from its 2020 schedule.