The Sunshine Development Tour—East Africa Swing–will resume in August with a double-header in Mombasa and Kwale Counties.
Nyali Golf and Country Club in Mombasa will stage its third leg of the Tour from August 4-6. It will be followed by the fourth leg from August 9-11, at the Diamonds Leisure Beach and Golf Resort on the South Coast.
Each of the Coast legs will be played over three
rounds with a total prize purse of Sh2m per event.
Players will also earn Official World Golf
Ranking (OWGR) points and World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) points, reinforcing
the Tour’s role as an exclusive pathway to global golfing opportunities in East
Africa.
The tournaments will feature professional and
elite amateur male and female golfers, drawn from East Africa, West Africa
and from South Africa’s Big Easy Tour.
Sunshine Development Tour's East Africa Swing promoter, Charles Gacheru, said: “We are excited to take the tour to the Coast Region. Both Nyali and Leisure are top-rated golf courses, and playing at the Kenyan Coast provides
players with a different experience and challenge."
He added: “The Tour isn’t just about prize
money. It is more about offering players a clearly defined pathway
to the global world of golf, and this is the only Tour in East Africa that
provides a structured and defined pathway to events such as the Olympic Games.”
The Tour is the only pathway in the region that offers official World Golf Ranking points, which are
mandatory for Olympic qualification and a clear pathway to one of the world’s
top golf tours, the Sunshine Tour.
“Members of the Tour in the region have access to playing opportunities on the Big Easy Tour in
South Africa, limited invite slots into the Sunshine Tour and the Sunshine
Ladies Tour. At the end of the season, our members will have the opportunity
to compete for Sunshine Tour cards,” Gacheru remarked.
“This Tour has enabled Dismas Indiza to move over 2,000 positions on the official World Golf Ranking, and we believe after the coast leg, Indiza, Njoroge Kibugu, and John Lejirma will be close to breaking into the top 1,000 of the world, a first for our country.”
Indiza currently leads the Tour Order of Merit with 280.35 points, Njoroge Kibugu is second with 275.78
points, and John Lejirma is third with 255 points. Other players expected to feature
at the Kenyan coast include Rwanda’s Celestin Nsanzuwera, Uganda’s Ronald
Rugumayo, Tanzania’s Nuru Molel and Nigeria’s Sunday Abimbola.
The women’s field will be led by Naom Wafula of Vipingo Ridge Golf Resort, who recently turned professional. Wafula is expected to be among the top lady golfers in both tournaments as she continues her transition into the professional ranks.
