Ex-Ryder Cup captain can’t wait for Kenya Open

The 15-time European Tour Champion, and immediate former Ryder Cup Captain, Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn and two past Kenya Open champions have expressed excitement with the idea of returning to Kenya for the now European Tour Magical Kenya Open.

Sweden’s 2016 Kenya Open winner Sebastian Soderberg and South Africa’s Haydn Porteous, who won in 2015, played in the open then under the umbrella of the European Challenge Tour several times before posting their victories.

They will now be part of the history making players who will have featured in the open both as a Challenge and European tour event.

The Tour event will be held at Karen Country Club in Nairobi from Thursday to Sunday.

It will be preceded by the PRO-AM tournament on Wednesday.

Tickets for the tournament can be purchased via the website www.kenyaopen.golf.

Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing Qatar Masters, who finished with three under par 285 in the Qatar Masters, said he was looking forward to reliving the memories of Kenya and lauded the efforts which have been put in place to elevate the tournament to the European Tour.

Bjorn will be making his return to Kenya 24 years after he first played at the Kenya Open.

“I haven’t been there since 1995 and I enjoyed it back then, so it is going to be great to come back to see what it is like now. They have put a lot of time and effort into getting this tournament into being a regular Tour event so, I believe it’s going to be fun and interesting. I am excited to going to the Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship,” he said.

Bjorn finished tied in second at the 1995 Kenya Open Golf Championship, missing the top spot by five strokes to Englishman James Lee, but went ahead to win four other events on the Challenge Tour calendar that year to emerge The Challenge Tour Rankings Champion.

Remarking on his memories of Kenya, Bjorn said that he appreciates the role the Kenya Open Golf Championship played in shaping his budding career.

“I went down there as a young professional in 1995 playing on the Challenge Tour and, having done some good work over the winter. I was really looking forward to the season and that got me off to a really good start. Obviously, I came up short, but it set me up for the rest of the season to win the Challenge Tour. It’s a place I have always wanted to go back to and now we are going back.”

Commenting on his return to the Kenya Open, Swede Sebastian Soderberg said: “The Kenya Open means a lot to me as it was my first Challenge Tour victory, so I am looking forward to come back and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. I haven’t been at the Karen Country Club in a while so I am looking forward to it. For some reason, I have always played well in Kenya so I am looking to a great tournament.”

Soderberg has played at the Kenya Open Golf Championship for four consecutive years since 2015; winning it in 2016 and finishing in sixth last year.

Remarking on his return to Kenya for the Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship, South African pro golfer, Haydn Porteous, said: “It’s been a while since I have played in my backyard and I have some fun memories since I recorded my first win as a pro in Kenya. To go back there would just be magical and I hope I can do something like I did last time.”

He added: “The first time I went to Kenya, I was pleasantly surprised at the number of people who turned up to watch golf, and now that the tournament is part of the European, I expect even more people to turn up for the tournament”

Haydn has taken part in the Kenya Open Golf Championship on two occasions; 2014 and 2015. He finished a decent 48th in 2014 before winning the championship the following year.

The 2019 Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship tees off at the Karen Country Club on Thursday March 14, and will be preceded by PRO-AM tournament on Wednesday the 13th.

Tickets for the tournament can be purchased via the website www.kenyaopen.golf.