The Kenya Open Golf Limited has tripled the total prize money for the last leg of the 2019/2020 Safari Golf Tour Series from Ksh 1 million to Ksh 3 million.
The tournament will be played at the Karen Country Club from the 22nd to the 26th of February this year.
The increase in prize money means the professional golfer winner of the event will bank Kshs 450,000; up from the Ksh 150,000.
KOGL Tournament Director Patrick Obath said the move will give players greater motivation to compete for the final qualification slots for the forthcoming Magical Kenya Open presented by Absa Golf Championship which will be played next month.
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“We expect the level of competition to go up a notch higher with the prize fund increase and look forward to a grand finish to the tournament at the Karen. Our desire is to see many low scores at this event as we near this year’s Magical Kenya Open,” he said.
Obath further said the Safari Tour has this season witnessed enhanced competition and performance pointing to a gradual growth and development in the players’ game which provides encouragement for the local players’ prospects at this year’s Kenya Open.
“Our hope is that the players will use the opportunity at Karen to prepare for the Kenya Open which will be played at the same venue and following the same format.” He said.
Professional Golfers of Kenya Captain C.J. Wangai welcomed the move to increase the prize money saying it will boost the morale of the players.
“I expect that we will see a bigger number of professional players from other Countries coming down this Saturday because of the prize money.” Wangai said.
The increase in prize money will also see an increase in points, with the winner of the tournament getting 75 points up from the current 50.
This means that players who are in marginal positions not only stand a chance of making good money from the outing, but also stand a substantial boost of qualifying for the Magical Kenya Open.
This season’s Tour has seen the tournament expand to Uganda, adding to its four events to bring to 11 the total number of tournaments in the calendar.
The list of the top eight Kenyan golfers who will have qualified to play at this year’s Magical Kenya Open presented by Absa Golf Championship through the 2019/2020 Safari Golf Tour Series will be announced at the end of the tournament.
