Esther Henseleit has returned to the scene of her two Ladies European Tour (LET) victories and will be teeing it up at the 2023 Magical Kenya Ladies Open.
The German secured a one-shot victory back in 2019 at Vipingo Ridge with a final round of 64 to secure the Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year titles.
While she enjoyed another visit at the start of 2022 winning again by one-shot as she successfully defended her title.
And the 24-year-old is aiming to replicate that success once again as she takes on the Baobab Course in Kenya.
“It’s great to be back, I have many great memories here,” she said. “The first year was pretty special winning the Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year titles here.
“Then coming back and defending my title was pretty cool. Of course, I came here to defend my title again, there’s no reason why I can’t.”
Henseleit finished 44th in the 2022 Race to Costa del Sol and continues to split her time between playing on the LET and in the United States.
But what makes Vipingo Ridge and Kenya so special and somewhere the two-time LET winner feels as home?
She explained: “I think it’s just a really nice atmosphere, it almost feels a bit like a holiday when you come here. Everyone stays on the resort and it’s just a nice atmosphere.
“Plus, the course suits my game. You have to hit it pretty straight off the tee, which I do. You have to be precise with your irons which is a strength of mine. I guess it just suits my game.”
Last year, Esther Henseleit retained her Magical Kenya Ladies Open after making a dramatic comeback on the tournament’s final round. Esther carded a round of 70 to end her campaign at the event with a 2-under par 286 score to claim the championship. The final day turned out to be dramatic as the German international who was trailing Sweden’s Linnea Strom for the better part of the day rallied her shots to close the gap and claim the prestigious title.
Speaking following her win last year, Henseleit said:
“At the first, I just put my drive a little bit left and was blocked to the green. I hit a good shot into the green but couldn’t make a par putt. Then I played pretty well and holed some good long putts and kept it together. In the end, it was a bit of a struggle, but I made it, and I am pretty proud of my last few holes. I have been struggling with the putter a lot over the last one and a half. Years so it’s pretty cool that held the last one.”
With it being the first tournament back after the off-season, it is always difficult to know exactly where your game is at.
However, Henseleit believes she put in some good work over winter especially on her irons and hopes to find out more on the fairways this week.
She added: “I feel pretty good about my game. It’s always hard to say when it’s your first tournament in a couple of months but I’ve worked hard over the off-season.
“I think my irons are pretty good, I’ve done a lot of work with my coach on them, and they have been really good the last couple of weeks in practice, I’m looking forward to that. I don’t feel like there’s a weakness in my game at the moment. I’m sure we will find out.”
Spectators can purchase tickets to the four-day tournament through the online platform www.ticketsasa.com which are retailing for KES 500 per day.
The tournament is sponsored by among others, the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Sports and The Arts, U.COM , EABL through its Johnnie Walker brand, Magical Kenya, Safaricom’s Mpesa, Huawei, KCB Group and Visa.