Magical Kenya Open to be aired exclusively on KTN News

Sports Principal Secretary Ministry of Sports Ambassador Kirimi Kaberia presents the Magical Kenya 2019 Pro-Am overall prize to Alistair Addison and and C Addison who were paired with Italian professional golfer Renato Paratore, they carded 98 stableford points to triumph, March 14, 2019. [Mose Sammy, Standard]

Magical Kenya Open 2019 will be streamed live on the Kenya Television Network (KTN News), this is after the channel's holding company, The Standard Group PLC acquired exclusive broadcasting rights as the lucrative European Challenge Tour event official media partner.

Through the deal inked by the Group's Chief Executive Officer Orlando Lyomu, KTN News shall re-transmit the signal on through their free-to-air channel that shall be received across East and Central Africa.

Through the deal, KTN News will be the only local television station with express authority to air the tournament. While The Standard newspaper shall be responsible in providing in depth coverage of the four day multi-million-shilling tournament.

The tournament will be beamed live to a record 550 million households across the world from the Karen Golf & Country Club in the four-day event which get underway on Thursday through Sunday at the par 72 course.

To facilitate this, the European Tour Production team has brought in an array of heavy-broadcast and rigging equipment to enable facilitate the production. This involves laying of 20kilometres of cable across the course – comprising of fibre, audio and triax cables. There will be 17 fixed cameras across the course and three RF cameras that will be roving freely and following star players around the course.
 
To get the best quality signals broadcasted from various positions across the course, there will be 2 cranes, 2 cherry pickers and 26 buggies to enable crew mobility. A total of 120 crew will be working behind the scenes to enable the production which will be shared with top media channels such as Sky Sports, Golf Channel and Supersport for airing live.

Top Sports TV director working with the European Tour Productions, Jim Storey, is already at Karen Country Club in preparations for the main event which tees off this coming Thursday. 
 
This is the first time that the tournament will be broadcasted live on TV since its inception in 1967.

Meanwhile Italy's Renato Paratore from Castelgandolfo Golf Club, provoked his team to victory at the 2019 Magical Kenya Open PRO-AM tournament that was held at the Karen Country Club today. After returning a team combined score of 92 stableford points to carry the day.

His team’s efforts were enough to fend off the stiff challenge posed by the team led by France's Clément Sordet which returned a combined score of 88 on the day, to finish second.

Their tally was just enough to leave a two-point lead ahead of the team led by South Africa's Haydn Porteous, comprised of Kenya Open Golf Limited chairman Peter Kanyago, which returned a total of 86 stableford points which came in third.

Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort's Justus Madoya was the best placed Kenyan, leading his team which included Kenya Golf Union's Vice chairman Anthony Murage for a combined score of 83, to place them 10th. They were tied on points, and separated on count back, with the teams led by Uganda's Philip Kasozi, the 2016 Kenya Open winner Sebastian Soderberg and the 2018/19 Safari Tour winner Greg Snow, whose team finished in 13th place.

The tournament, which attracted a field of over 126 golfers, was played under the course layout that will be played during the 2019 Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship, giving the pros an opportunity to acclimatize to the course ahead of the tournament tomorrow.

Attention now shifts to the main tournament, which gets underway tomorrow at 7:20am with 144 players including 14 Kenya Pros, and six elite amateurs, taking to the course. Tickets for the tournament can be purchased via the website www.kenyaopen.golf.