Wakhu is the defending champion of the Nyali leg. Photo/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 22 – The first leg of the 2019/20 Safari Tour Golf series that is scheduled to tee-off on Saturday at the Nyali Golf and Country Club in Mombasa, has attracted over 40 professionals from around the region.
Among the notable names set to battle it out for a share of the Sh1 million total Prize kitty, include defending series champion Greg Snow, Golf Park’s David Wakhu who won in Nyali last year, hard hitting Dismas Indiza and Windsor Golf Club’s Riz Charania.
Mohit Mediratta, who missed most of the Safari Tour action last season, makes a return to the tournament this. Weekend.
The field also includes entries from Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Among the regional players whose entries have been received by the tournament organizers, Kenya Open Golf Limited, include Tanzania’s Nuru Mollel, Rajabu Pembe and Abdalla Yusuf; Uganda’s Philip Kasozi, Mwanja Becca, Dennis Anguyo, Bagalana Abbey and Toolit Brian; and double Sunshine Tour champion from Zimbabwe, Charamba Tongoona.
Dismas Indiza at the Royal Nairobi Golf Club 18th hole fairway. Photo/RAYMOND MAKHAYA
The event also features entries from elite amateurs, notably Zayan Din from Nyali.
The four-day tournament will tee off with a Pro-Am event which will see the Professional golfers play with amateurs on Saturday, the 24th of August at the same venue, before the main competition which will be played from Sunday 25th to Wednesday 28th August.
A golf clinic will be held tomorrow at the same venue featuring a section of professional players taking amateur and junior golfers through a golf basics course.
Speaking ahead of the Nyali leg, Safari Tour Golf Series Tournament Director, Patrick Obath.
“We are delighted with the level on entries that we have received for this event as it confirms its importance to both our local and regional pros as they work towards getting a slot in next year’s Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship.
We are particularly glad to see entries from Zimbabwe as well as increased number of players from both Uganda and Tanzania. As we move along, we hope to attract more regional professionals as the tour continues,” he said.
Greg Snow
Obath added; “On behalf of KOGL, I would like to welcome our visiting pros and wish them an enjoyable stay in Kenya for the duration of the event and also wish them well on the course. I wish all golfers the best as they take on the Nyali course and look forward to seeing great results.”
The Nyali leg will be the first in a series of 12 tournaments that will constitute the 2019/20 Safari Tour, that will see golfers play in Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, culminating with the 2020 Magical Kenya Open set to be hosted at the Karen Country Club from the 12th – 15th of March 2020.
After Nyali, the series will move to the Lake Victoria Serena Golf Club from the 10th to the 14th of September for the Uganda Open, then to the Royal Golf Club Nairobi from the 12th – 16th of October.
Action will move back to Uganda, this time at the Entebbe Golf Club from the 30th of October to the 2nd of November.
The series will then head to Rwanda, at the Kigali Golf Club from the 6th to the 9th of November, after which it will make stops at the Great Rift Valley and Muthaiga Golf Clubs before breaking for Christmas on the 18th of December.
