Coca Cola marketing manager Mona Karingi when presenting the cheque to Kenya Open sponsorship director Kathleen Kihanya.
NAIROBI, March 10 – 2013 champion Jordi García Pinto is among top players entered for 2016 Barclays Kenya Open Golf Championship to be held at Karen Country Club from March 17-20.
This year’s Open will feature players from 26 countries with pro golfers coming from as far afield as Chile, Australia and the largest chunk from Europe.
Speaking Thursday during the presentation of Coca-Cola East Africa sponsorship worth Sh15m ($150,000), tournament sponsorship director Kathleen Kihanya said the course is in good condition and all is set for the European Challenge Tour.
“We would like to thank Coca Cola for their generous contribution as one of our key sponsors for the Kenya Open 2016. They have been one of our strategic partners for the past four years which we are truly grateful.
“Things to look out for this year are the Kenya open village that will have a new concept where we will have a lot of activations and we are inviting people who don’t know anything about golf so we can have the opportunity to teach them about the sport,” Kihanya said.
Coca Cola Marketing Manager Mona Karingi was hopeful the sponsorship will motivate local pros to go ahead and claim the maiden victory.
“We are sponsoring this with our full portfolio of beverages lead by brand Coke, supported by our water Dasani and our Minute Maid Juice, giving the players and spectators a wide array of choice in what they want to consume over the duration of the open.
“We are proud to be associated with sports and its development in Kenya and we are here for the pleasure of the players and spectators with this being our contribution to the society for this very noble cause. It’s our hope that a Kenyan wins it for the first time.”
The 22 pros from Kenya include Dismas Indiza and Greg Snow who qualified by virtue of making cuts at last year’s Kenya Open.
With less than a week to tee off, the tournament has reached the penultimate stage of planning, with organisers and tournament officials putting on the final touches on what promises to be a grueling and competitive event.
This year, the tournament will once again attract players from around the globe; with competitors expected from the East Africa region, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia.
