The stage is finally set as a full field of 156 players parade at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club course from Thursday 7am for the 2023 edition of the Magical Kenya Open golf tournament.
Earlier on, two players England’s Andrew Johnston and Datch Daan Huizing had withdrawn from the tournament, though the European Tour managed to replace them with Kenya’s John Wangai who is the Chairman of the Professional Golfers of Kenya (PGK), and Zimbabwe’s Robson Chinhoi who was the third-placed player in the Safari Tour Order of Merit for the regional players.
His entry into the tournament gives Zimbabwe two slots including the top regional qualifier Visitor Mapwanya and Uganda’s Ronald Rugumayo while Kenya will now have nine professionals and six amateurs.
However the hottest man to look for at Muthaiga this week, is Germany’s Marcel Siem who on February 26 completed a four rounds total of 14 under par, to claim the Hero Indian Open, just a shot better than his country man Paul Yannik.
It was a good start to the season for the 42-year- old German who regained his playing privileges for the 2023 campaign through the Qualifying School. He made a long-awaited return to the DP World Tour winner’s circle after an eight-year wait with his victory at the Hero Indian Open last month.
He is the highest-ranked player in the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex in the field this week at eighth and is looking to make it an eighth consecutive appearance of the campaign without a missed cut, in addition to claiming the fifth DP World Tour title of his career last time out.
He has registered five further top 20s so far this season. His one and only other appearance at Muthaiga came on the Challenge Tour in 2002 when he finished 26th. But one cannot overlook Ashun Wu who after a rest on the schedule, is listed at Muthaiga to try and defend his title against 2023 season winners Marcel Siem and Frenchman Antoine Rozner who won in Mauritius, while the field also includes names like Rafa Cabrera Bello and Robert MacIntyre in the field.
Ashun Wu follows the progress of his shot during the Magical Kenya Open Pro-Am event at Muthaiga Golf Club on March 08, 2023.
Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation Media Group
The Scot MacIntyre is making his second appearance at the Magical Kenya Open after finishing in a tie for 17th on his debut when it was held at Karen Country Club in 2019. He went on to record three runner-up finishes that season as he finished 11th in the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex and picked up the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award.
He will hope his return to Kenya can ignite his 2023 season in a similar fashion as he looks to climb up the Official World Golf Ranking.
The field also include Swede Jens Fahrbring who arrives at an event and a venue where he has fared strongly in the past as he seeks that elusive DP World Tour title. He lost to Lorenzo Gagli of Italy in a play-off at Muthaiga in 2018 in the event’s final staging on the Challenge Tour.
Three years earlier, he finished fifth in Kenya’s national open at Karen Country Club. The 2015 Challenge Tour graduate also has a recent record of challenging in this continent after a third-place finish at the Investec South African Open Championship earlier this season. On the back of making his last two cuts during the recent Asian Swing, he will now look to be challenging towards the top of the leaderboard once again.
At the home front, this is a year the nine local entries would like to do well than any other time. Last year only junior amateur Njoroge Kibugu was left alone to carry the Kenyan flag after an amazing six under par in the first two rounds. Though he ran out of power after that and went on to finish in 64th place, he had made a point.
Kenya’s Greg Snow tees off from the first tee during the Magical Kenya Open Pro-Am event at Muthaiga Golf Club on March 08, 2023.
Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation Media Group
This year he is joined by his brother Mutahi Kibugu, and Greg Snow both playing at home and at a more familiar course which will obviously be playing differently compared to when the local pros concluded their 2022/23 Safari Tour series.
Mutahi Kibugu, Snow, and players like Coast-based Daniel Nduva as well as Railway’s Samuel Njoroge and Justus Madoya are in good form and should give Kenyans what they deserve–a good performance.
Njoroge Kibugu will meanwhile lead the charge for amateur title where also yearning for a good finish are players like Jay Sandhu, Daniel Kiragu, and Kenya’s number one amateur John Lejirmah.
