NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 18 – One of the notable players from last year’s edition of the KCB Karen Masters Ryan Cairns is among the 156 golfers entered for this year’s tournament slated for the par 72 Karen Country Club from June 27-30.
The Royal Harare Golf Club pro shocked all and sundry at last year’s competition after sinking a hole-in-one on the par three 5th..
The memorable hole-in-one earned the Zim an elegant Toyota Prado 2018 model upon hitting the target from 204m.
Cairns went home richer person than last year’s Masters winner Michael Palmer of South Africa with the 3 liter 16 valve car worth 10.3milion.
The Zimbabwean candidly admitted he was actually not going for the hole in one as he hit his 6-iron which bounced on the green and rolled into the hole. The hole-in-one at Karen wasn’t his first. He has savored three more holes in one; two in South Africa and one in Mauritius.
This year, Cairns tied for eighth on Zanaco Masters in Zambia and most recently T6 on the Sun City Challenge in South Africa.
The Karen Masters was first played on 18 and 19 March 2017 as a 36-hole event, won by Dutchman Wil Besseling who won the top cash prize of Sh400,000 (US$4,000).
The Dutchman fired his second back-to-back six under par 66 for a total of 12 under par to clinch the inaugural KCB Karen Master as Kenyan pro Greg Snow settled for fourth place.
In 2018 the Karen Masters became a Sunshine Tour event won by Michael Palmer.