KOGL, Barclays Bank lift Magical Kenya Open tourney

[Courtesy]

Some of the world’s finest golfers led by Europe’s former Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn, past winners Sebastian Soderberg and Haydn Porteous will descend on Nairobi starting Wednesday for the Magical Kenya Open presented by Absa Group at Karen Country Club.

With the elevation of the Championship to the main European Tour, the tournament is expected to experience a significantly higher quality of play, especially with the doubling of the prize money from 500 Euros to 1.1 million Euros (Sh111,979,038).

For five days, Kenya will be on the global map as the tournament will be broadcast on international channels such as SkySports News, Supersport, Fox Sports, Golf Channel and leading local station KTN also joining the fray.

It has taken great effort from Kenya Open Golf Limited and Barclays Bank of Kenya over 8 years of solid planning and investing millions of shillings to grow the profile and stature of the Kenya Open tournament.

They have transformed it into a great asset, not just for the golfing fraternity but for the country.

As a result of this, Kenya Open is now one of the biggest sporting events in sub-Saharan Africa and has contributed immensely to the promotion of Kenya as a global golfing and sports tourism destination.

This is clear in the increasing number of partners, who have joined this year in supporting the tournament, including the government, Standard Group PLC hence the new branding as Magical Kenya Open.

As rightly observed by Jeremy Awori, the Barclays Bank of Kenya Managing Director, sponsorship opens new possibilities for all involved. That is the way to go. We need corporates to invest in not only golf, but also a wide range of sports disciplines in Kenya.

The growth of the Kenya Open demonstrates the importance of persistence with purpose that has seen the rise of the tournament from the European Challenge Tour from 1991 to now the elite PGA European Tour.

By consistently injecting millions over eight uninterrupted years, Barclays Bank of Kenya which will soon operate under their parent company brand, Absa Group, together with KOGL has created a bolder tournament.

The Championship is now at a new level – having achieved its biggest milestone of joining the European Tour.

By splashing Sh250million on top of Sh220million spread over three years by Barclays Bank, but the Government should now follow up this investement by investing in a public golf course at Kasarani.

The Sports Ministry should thus lead the initiative of harnessing resources from corporates to build a course for the Kenyan public. There is need, therefore, to tap into Kenya Open Golf Limited’s and Sports Kenya’s expertise to deliver the project.

As we head to Karen Country Club starting Wednesday for Magical Kenya Open presented by Absa, we must sieze the positive vibes to actualise the dream of having a public golf course.

 

Robin Toskin is the Sports Editor at The Standard