Nine pros make cut for Kenya Open tourney

Nine locally based professionals have qualified, through the Safari Tour, to play in the Kenya Open Golf Championship 2019, which will be played for the first time as part of the main European Tour. The Kenya Open has been held since 1967 and from 1991 it was played as part of the European Challenge Tour. In 2018 the Kenya Open was the richest event on the Challenge Tour and this year it joins the main European Tour.

The nine include Greg Snow (113.5), Dismas Indiza (111), Rizwan Charania (79), David Wakhu (72), CJ Wangai (68.5), Simon Ngige (66.5) and Tony Omuli (53.5). Nelson Simwa (51) and David Opati (51) are tied in eighth place and the Safari Tour tournament committee has decided to award both a slot into the Kenya Open.

Snow has been dominant since the beginning of the Safari Tour series in August 2018, winning at Vet Lab, Thika Greens and Muthaiga. He was also the top placed Pro at the Limuru leg that was won by amateur golfer Michael Karangi.

Snow affirmed his superiority at the Muthaiga leg where he won by a record setting margin of 15-strokes! Snow now sits at the top of the Safari Tour points log with 113.5 points.

Indiza has been the most consistent golfer of the Safari Tour; he finished second in Nyali, lost to Snow in a playoff in Vet Lab, finished T2 with Ngige in Limuru, second again at Thika Greens and T2 with Charania in Muthaiga. That the long hitting and highly experienced Indiza has not yet won a Safari Tour event is surprising.

Charania took full advantage of the event at his home course Windsor to bag his first Safari Tour trophy; that victory propelled him to third on the overall rankings. Charania was third in Nyali and at Limuru and T2 in Muthaiga. He missed the CUT at Vet Lab and performed poorly at Thika Greens.

Wakhu won the first Safari Tour event at Nyali and continued to perform consistently in the rest of the events. He missed the CUT at the long and challenging Thika Greens and a flu curtailed his efforts at Windsor. The Professional Golfers of Kenya Captain CJ Wangai was steady through the first four Safari Tour legs, lost his footing at Muthaiga and missed the CUT and Windsor proved to be a tough test for the polite captain. Wangai will now have a date at the Kenya Open where his calm demeanor should serve him well.

Ngige had a false start to his Safari Tour journey with a missed CUT at Nyali and a poor round at Vet Lab. He, however, kept his head down through the rest of the season to finish in the top eight. Omuli has one of the best swings I have seen on the Safari Tour, he also has a calm head and passion for golf. Omuli has quietly cruised through the Safari Tour, missing only one CUT at the Muthaiga leg.

Simwa did not play the first event at Nyali and his best performance was a third place finish at Vet Lab. On his part, Opati did not play at Nyali, missed the CUT at Thika Greens and was lackluster at Vet Lab. He will now have to redeem himself at the Kenya Open where he will be representing his country.

Jacob Okello’s attempt to qualify for the Kenya Open ended in disappointment, missing a top eight slot by only half a point! Okello’s 50.5 points place him in 10th place, so close, yet so far to an automatic slot.

Okello has had a love and hate affair with the Kenya Open; in 1998 he narrowly missed out on becoming first Kenya to win the event, losing in a play off to Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina. He then had a good run in 2006 and 2007, finishing T4 and T5 respectively. Since then, Okello has failed to make the CUT at the Kenya Open. With this be his last hurrah?

With nine slots now gone, what next for the rest of the Kenyans and East Africans? According to the Kenya Open Tournament Director, Patrick Obath, KOGL had a total of 16 slots.

“With the move to the main Tour, Kenya was allocated 16 slots for Kenyan and East African professionals as well as Sponsors’ invites. Another six slots were separately allocated to amateur golfers – the Kenya Golf Union (KGU) has already filled these slots,” Obath said.