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Tee-off time: Sights and sounds players will savour in Vipingo

KILIFI, Kenya, Feb 2 – The Ladies  to Tour (LET) is here with us again and the season tees-off  the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol at Vipingo Ridge in Kenya on Thursday morning.

This will be the third time that the Tour has graced Kilifi County with 96 players teeing it up in the first tournament of the year.

Starting the LET season at Vipingo  means there may be a few sights and sounds that the players are not used to.

 It’s not every day that zebras and giraffes stroll onto the 10th and 18th fairway to have a midday snack.

Rightly so, the nature and wildlife will be on show for everyone to see this week at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open.

Vipingo Ridge is a place of great memories for Germany’s Esther Henseleit.

This was the venue of her first LET win in 2019 which saw her secured the Order of Merit title for that season, and in 2022 she returned to defend her crown.

The 24-year-old, who finished 44th in the 2022 Race to Costa del Sol, is back in place where she feels happy.

 Henseleit will be looking to replicate her success once more in the Kenyan Coast.

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Another player to watch is Sara Kouskova who in the last summer turned professional after finishing college and played on the LET Access Series for the 2022 season.

The Czech golfer won both the Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year titles after tallying 2,592.18 points from 10 events in 2022.

The 23-year-old qualified for the LET back in December of 2021 while still an amateur but decided to finish her college career instead. One year later and Kouskova is now preparing for her rookie season on the LET.

–Rookies Galore —

After a successful Qualifying School at La Manga Club in Spain in December, there are host of rookie LET members ready for their first event since securing status. There will be a total of 23 rookies teeing it up at Vipingo this week.

For some, they will be making their debut on the LET while others may have played in an event before but are looking for the season ahead. With spectacular surroundings to start the year, it will be interesting to know what’s up their sleeves.

Manon De Roey hopes to perform well in Kenya. She had a very successful 2022 on the LET where she secured her maiden win at the Aramco Team Series – Bangkok and also ended the year being fourth in the 2022 Race to Costa del Sol.

After the LET season ended, the Belgian secured status on the LPGA Tour by finishing T28 at Q-Series and will managing her schedule for 2023. De Roey will play on both Tours and her confidence is high as she tees it up at Vipingo Ridge.

Kenya will be represented by five players among them Naomi Wafula, Mercy Nyanchama and Channelle Wangari.

Mercy Nyanchama, Jacqueline Walter and Nancy Wairimu will all tee off between 12:58 and 1:42 PM off the tenth. Botswana’s Nobuhle Dlamini, the only other African in the field, will also be teeing off within this time band, on the tenth.

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Two-time winner Henseleit will have Johanna Gustavsson of Sweden and Christine Wolf of Austria for company as she gets her campaign off to a start for a third Magical Kenya Ladies Open title at 1:20PM.

Pia Babnik of Slovenia, who is the highest ranked player in the field, will get her round underway at 9:06 AM, from the tenth tee, in the company of Sanna Nuutinen (Finland) and Sophie Witt (Germany)

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