Vet Lab's Edwin Mudanyi follows his tee shot during the fourth leg of the 2020 Safari Tour at the Sigona Golf Club on October 27, 2020.
| Chris Omollo | Nation Media GroupGolf
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Home players get ready for Magical Kenya Open
What you need to know:
- Ooko has also featured in more than seven Sunshine Tour events although he was not able to make cut.
- He says he has learned a lot in the Safari Tour which has taken him as far as Uganda.
- Ooko says this may be the year of breaking through in the Magical Kenya Open and the Savannah Classic, largely thanks to the sponsorship from Vision 2030.
The Magical Kenya Open tees off on Thursday at Karen Country Club, with a total 156 players are expected to compete. There will be 12 Kenyan pros and six amateurs in the field.
The Magical Kenya Open will kick-start Kenya’s first European Tour double-header as the Kenya Savannah Classic will follow from March 23 to 26 at the same venue.
The Magical Kenya Open, which was elevated to be part of the elite European Tour in 2019, did not take place last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
For years, the competition has attracted top golf players and spectators, both local and international, to the country thanks to its global audience.
Vision 2030 Director General Kenneth Mwige signs a dummy cheque at Ngong Race Course on March 11, 2021 when Vision 2030 launched their sponsorship ahead of Kenya Open and Savannah Classic.
The Kenya Savannah Classic was added to the list of European Tour events for 2021.
The two tournaments will be broadcast to over 490 million homes globally, including millions in Kenya on free-to-air television.
Here, Nation Sport continues the profiles of Kenyan players who will compete in the tournament.
Edwin Mudanyi
Based at the Vet Lab Sports Club in Kiambu County, Mudanyi, 27, younger brother of Muthaiga Club resident professional Nelson Mudanyi, will be playing in the Open for the first time as a professional, having turned pro in 2019.
He played in both the 2018 and 2019 Open tournaments as an amateur.
Mudanyi has performed well in the nine tournaments in which he has featured in the local Safari Tour series, only missing the cut in one.
Joined the professional ranks
He joined the professional ranks after a colourful amateur career which saw him win the Mount Kenya Championship, Kabete Open at his home course, Winston Churchill Cup and the Manchester Salver.
Mudanyi says playing in the Safari Tour has taught him a lot and has prepared him well for the Magical Kenya Open as well as any other international event.
He said the just-concluded Safari Tour third season was very competitive because of the presence of a number of players from other countries such as Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Uganda.
Edwin Mudanyi follows his chip from the 10 hole fairway during the Safari Tour Golf Series at Windsor Golf and Country Club on February 18, 2019.
He has trained at Karen and says the course at the moment is in great condition and easy for one to score, only if one stays on course.
Erick Ooko Obura
The 32-year-old Eric Ooko from Golf Park in Nairobi has played in the Kenya Open since 2015, the year he turned professional. However, he is yet to make the cut in the tournament. He has missed the cut by one shot twice.
He started playing golf in 2008 at Golf Park before moving to Royal Nairobi where he was based until early last year.
But before turning professional, Ooko featured in a number of national amateur events. Despite not winning any of the tournaments, he earned a call-up to the national team and represented Kenya in the Africa Zone Six Championship in South Africa.
Erick Ooko poses for a photo with Magical Kenya Open trophy at the Nairobi National Park during a sponsorship launch organised by the Kenya Toursim Board on March 13, 2021.
He has been very consistent in the Safari Tour, playing in all the events since the tour started.
He has missed cut in three, but came second in three others, including at Royal Nairobi where he was beaten in a play-off by Tony Omulli.
Ooko has also featured in more than seven Sunshine Tour events although he was not able to make cut.
He says he has learned a lot in the Safari Tour which has taken him as far as Uganda.
Ooko says this may be the year of breaking through in the Magical Kenya Open and the Savannah Classic, largely thanks to the sponsorship from Vision 2030.
