Jorge Campillo of Spain tees off from hole three during the Magical Kenya Open on March 12, 2023 at the Muthaiga Golf Club.
With just 10 days before the Magical Kenya Open tees off at Muthaiga Golf Club, a storm is brewing among local professional golfers.
A section of Kenyan pros is demanding additional slots in the DP World Tour event set for February 20 to 23, threatening to take legal action if their request is not granted.
The dispute stems from the allocation of playing slots for local players.
According to the aggrieved professionals, the European Tour had initially designated 22 slots for Kenyans, including six amateurs. However, they claim that only 14 slots have been made available—eight for professionals and six for amateurs—leaving them feeling short-changed.
Frustrated by the outcome, the pros, who spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the issue, have vowed to seek legal address.
“We are demanding those eight extra slots or we shall seek legal redress at the Sports Dispute Tribunal,” said one of the professionals, adding that their body, Professional Golfers of Kenya (PGK), has held discussions with the organisers to no avail.
The professional said that they will not wait for no-shows for them to be included in the event, adding that it will be too late for them.
“It’s quite unfair for our slots to be given to foreigners then be told to wait for no-shows for us to get more slots…we shall not accept that again,” said another professional, adding that they have been taken for a ride since Kenya Open became a full European Tour event.
The professionals for this year’s Kenya Open are Njoroge Kibugu, Dismas Indiza, Greg Snow, Samuel Njoroge, Mohit Mediratta, Riz Charania, Edwin Mudanyi and David Wakhu.
Five amateurs have so far qualified including, the Golfer of the Year (GOTY) series champion, Michael Karanga, Kenya Matchplay champion Michael Walunga from Uganda and Kenya Strokeplay champion William Odek from Nyali.
Also in the mix are Team Kenya captain John Lejirmah and junior golfer Jaswat Harish. One more amateur is set to be named by the Kenya Golf Union after only one junior (Jaswat) met the qualifying standards.
The Kenya Open has grown significantly over the years. Previously part of the European Challenge Tour, it was elevated to a full European Tour event in 2019, a move championed by then-President Uhuru Kenyatta.
This transition saw the tournament’s prize money double from Sh57 million to Sh125.4 million, making it one of Africa’s premier golf tournaments.
By 2024, the prize pool had surged to Sh330 million, further increasing the event’s prestige and attracting top international players.
The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), through its Magical Kenya brand, has remained the tournament’s title sponsor, highlighting its importance in promoting Kenya as a global golfing destination.
“This event should be geared towards developing local pros and amateurs as much as it’s a European Tour event,” said the professional, who showed Nation Sport a section of the contract between Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship and DP World Tour detailing tournament invitations and National/regional invitations.
Those who get invited according to the contract said in part, are; (i), a maximum of eight professional golfers other than those eligible under the regulations of the Tour, (ii) a maximum of a further eight national or regional professional golfers, and (iii) a maximum of six amateurs with a handicap of scratch or better under the relevant governing body’s handicap scheme provided that the Tour shall have the right to approval.
Patrick Obath, chairman of the Magical Kenya Open Local Organising Committee (LOC), acknowledged the concerns raised by local players but stated that any changes to slot allocations would have to wait for future editions.
When challenged to share the current contract that Kenya Open Golf Limited signed with DP World Tour, Obath said that the contract wasn’t a public document.
“I know they are complaining, but the document that they are sharing isn’t signed but still part of our discussions with DP World Tour,” said Obath.
“They want us to increase the numbers but that isn’t in our jurisdiction,” Obath said that the total entries this year is 144 as compared to 156 last year because of the time factor after the event was moved from March to February.
He further explained that Kenya initially had six professional and six amateur slots, but after negotiations, the country managed to secure two more professional slots, bringing the total to eight professionals and six amateurs.
We were allowed to have three more slots for other regional golfers,” explained Obath, adding that the three slots this year will be filled through a pre-qualifying round that will be played on Monday.
He stated that to operate in DP World Tour, they applied for a license, which is granted with conditions.
“They can prefer to have their players but we negotiated for eight professionals instead of six,” said Obath.
However, the professionals stated that South Africa, who have four DP World Tour events this year, have more of their locals featuring in the events, but Obath said that most of the events are co-sanctioned with DP World Tour because they are part of the Sunshine Tour.
Obath said that the only way Kenya can increase its numbers at Kenya Open is to go the Sunshine Tour way where the country should have at least sustained tours of more than three years so that they can be co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour.
Obath also gave an example of the Mauritius Open which is triple-sanctioned by DP World Tour, Sunshine Tour, and Asian Tour because the event is part of the Asian and Sunshine Tour.
“They split both the entries and prize money in three. That is why we need our tour so that we can co-sanction with DP World to have an equal say on the numbers we can invite locally,” stated Obath, adding that they have tried to engage DP World to increase the local numbers to at least 12 but in vain.
