Safari Tour is growing, but can be better with more sponsors

Dismas Indiza from Kenya comes from a bunker during the Barclays Kenya Open 2017 Golf Championships at the Muthaiga Golf Club on March 25, 2017. [Photo/Oliver Ananda/www.sportpicha.com]

At the Safari Tour Grand Finale that was played at the Karen Country Club this week, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with some of the professional golfers.

During the discussions, I couldn’t help but think of the saying ‘It takes a village to raise a child’.

In our African culture, a child is fed in whichever home they visit and it is incumbent upon every adult to correct or educate any child they come across.

A lot of these values are slowly being eroded as children are no longer allowed to visit their neighbours and one can easily find themselves in trouble with the law if they tried to discipline an errant child.

The 2019-2020 season had two very distinct differences from the first Safari Tour season; it attracted players from various countries in Africa and we had four events held in Uganda.

In true African culture, professional golfers from various countries in Africa were welcomed to the table and enjoyed a “meal” with the host professionals.

The Kenyan and Ugandan professional golfers were gracious hosts and made all visiting professionals feel welcome.

We have had professional golfers from Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and the two neighbouring countries; Tanzania and Rwanda.

The Uganda Golf Union has been a very important partner for the Safari Tour as they not only provided four events, but also raised sponsorship money for the four events that they hosted.

The events in Kenya and Uganda would not have been possible were it not for the support from Absa Bank and East African Breweries.

Over and above the financial support received towards running the events, the two organisations have sponsored professional golfers who have gone on to get playing slots at the Magical Kenya Open.

The eight Kenyan players, who got slots for this year’s Magical Kenya Open presented by Absa are sponsored by the two organisations.

The Johnnie Walker sponsored players; Dismas Indiza and Greg Snow, have between them won eight of the 11 season’s two events.

The other players, Simon Ngige, Erick Ooko, David Wakhu, John Wangai, Rizwan Charania and Jastas Madoya have been sponsored by Absa Bank. This sponsorship has helped the golfers focus on their game as it helped them move from event to event and cover their other expenses.

I still feel that the Absa Bank and Johnnie Walker could do a lot more publicity of their brands with the professional golfers that they have sponsored, but their sponsorship has really helped the players to prepare themselves.

There are many other talented professional golfers, who can benefit from corporate or individual sponsorships. This is the village that will raise our “children” who are the future of golf in Kenya, Uganda and indeed, the entire African continent.

From what we have seen from this second season of the Safari Tour, this is the kind of tour that is required to be able to raise the standards of golf.

If we have role models from the professional golfers, then we can be sure to see more golfers taking up the game, especially from the junior ranks.

At the moment, we have Absa Bank and East African Breweries playing the role of the “village” that is raising our “children”.

They cannot do it on their own. Golf in Africa needs more sponsors to come to the fold. 

Wang’ombe is the General Manager of Kenya Open Golf Limited