Stage ready for Magical Kenya Ladies Open

It’s all systems go as the Magical Kenya Ladies Open golf tournament begins tomorrow at the 18-hole par 72 Vipingo Ridge Baobab Course, in Kilifi.

The event, which is expected to be beamed live to over 270 million viewers in 69 countries across the globe, is being held under the Ladies European Tour (LET) and it’s the only women’s professional golf competition in the East African region.

The event is also the season opener for 2022 in LET’s calendar and returns to the country after a two-year break due to Covid-19 pandemic.

The tournament is presented by among others Safaricom’s M-Pesa, Huawei and Kenya’s Development National Sports Fund.

Tomorrow, the ladies start the event with a Pro-Am, before the four-day begins proper, on Thursday. It has a prize money of €300,000 (about Sh38.8 million).

Sports, Culture and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed said they are pleased to host the event.

“We warmly welcome all players to Kenya and wish everyone a rewarding experience in our magical country,” said Amina.

Vipingo Ridge chairman Alastair Cavenagh said they are looking forward to welcoming the golfers to their spectacular destination.

Some top golfers to watch out for include Esther Henseleit of Germany, who won the 2019 Magical Kenya Ladies Open, India’s Aditi Ashok, who was second, third-placed Sweden’s Julia Engstrom and fourth-placed USA’s Cheyenne Woods, cousin to legendary golfer Tiger Woods. Meanwhile, Safaricom yesterday announced a Sh20 million sponsorship for the tournament.