•Kasozi played in the Safari Tour and qualified third among players from the African region alongside Robson Chinhoi of Zimbabwe and Andrew Adoh of Nigeria.
•Akope was fourth-placed regional player on Safari Tour and as such missed out on Magical Kenya Open.
Image: IMG KENYA
Sigona professional Mohit Mediratta, Nyali’s Mathew Wahome and Ugandan veteran Deo Akope have landed invites to play in Kenya Savannah Classic.
The European Tour event will tee off at the par 71 Karen County Club course today. The trio didn’t play in the Magical Kenya Open and have an opportunity to showcase their skills in the event that will debut the busy European Tour schedule this week. The players got the slots on the strength of their performances in the Safari Tour Golf Series.
Uganda will have the privilege of fielding two players with Akope joining compatriot Philip Kasozi, who is already in the mix.
Kasozi played in the Safari Tour and qualified third among players from the African region alongside Robson Chinhoi of Zimbabwe and Andrew Adoh of Nigeria. Akope was fourth-placed regional player on Safari Tour and as such missed out on Magical Kenya Open.
Vincent Wang’ombe of Kenya Open Golf Limited said Anthony Omuli was only playing the Magical Kenya Open while Mohit was coming in for Kenya Savannah Classic. Mohit is best remembered for his Challenge Tour Kenya Open debut in 2018, where he made the cut contrary to all expectations.
Wang’ombe, who is also the Kenya Golf Union (KGU) CEO, added: “Jacob (Okello) and another European Tour player dropped off after Magical Kenya Open and now we will have Matthew Wahome and Deo Akope to replace them. We have also dropped the bottom two and have two new ones in the amateur team,” he said .
Meanwhile, past winners of Kenya Open who struggled to make their presence felt last week have all been enlisted for Savannah Classic.
Aaron Rai (2017), Guido Migliozzi (2019), Sebastian Soderberg (2016), who missed the cut last week and Lorenzo Gagli will be looking to make amends. Justin Harding of South Africa, who is the current Champion of Kenya Open is also in the mix according to entries published by the European Tour. Justin was crowned on Sunday as the new MKO champion with an impressive -21 total with rounds of 66-67-64-66 to boot.
“I’m very happy to have gotten over the line. I wouldn’t say I was in a slump but I was in a dip in form in terms of mixed results and it was nice to get over the line this time around. Winning isn’t everything but I think being in the winner’s circle again means a little more to me than I thought it did. This week is more of the same really. It’s an unprecedented turnaround. I don’t think we’ve ever really played eight rounds on the same golf course in nine days so I’m going to try and keep the same sort of mojo going and hope that it continues. It feels like my game is in decent enough shape. I feel like I’m rolling it nicely on the greens, I holed out nicely today (Sunday) so it’s just a case of really just giving yourself some chances and seeing how many you can take,” Harding said.
Team Kenya (Savannah Classic)
Amateurs: Michael Karanga (Kiambu GC), Adel Balala (Nyali), Taimur Malik (Muthaiga GC), Jaydeep Singh Sandhu (Royal Nairobi), Isaac Ogolla Makokha (Vet Lab SC), Njoroge Njonge Kibugu (Muthaiga GC); Pros: Mathew Omondi (Vetlab SC), Mohit Mediratta (Sigona GC), Mathew Wahome (Nyali), Edwin Inana Asuza (Vet Lab), Riz Charania (Go-Golf Academy), Wangai C.J (Sigona), Samuel Njoroge Chege (Railways), Simon Ngige Mburu (Thika SC), Greg Snow (Muthaiga), Dismas Indiza Anyonyi (Mumias), Justaus Madoya Asena (Great Rift Valley), David Wakhu (Golf Park), Erick Ooko Obura (Golf Park).