All set for Magical Kenya Ladies Open tee off

The stage is finally set for the 2024 Magical Kenya Ladies Open which tees off Thursday at the PGA-certified Baobab Course at the Vipingo Ridge in Kilifi County.

A field of 108 players, including five Kenyan lady amateurs, are expected to tackle the tough playing course where the strong wind and usual heat is expected to be one of the challenges the ladies drawn from 36 countries will be facing.

It will be broadcasted live globally across 100 countries and to 350 million homes. Across Sub-Saharan Africa, DSTV’s Super Sport will air the action from Vipingo Ridge, whilst The Golf Channel will beam the tournament proceedings in the America’s region.

Sky Sports will broadcast the proceedings to the UK and German audiences while Fox Sports will air the event in Australia.

Locally, Mediamax, through K24 TV will broadcast the tournament as the Free-To-Air partner. Broadcast for the tournament will be done between 3pm and 6pm Kenyan time from Thursday to Saturday, with final day coverage starting from 1pm to 4pm. 

Teeing off for the event, the fourth edition and the first event in the Ladies European Tour is at 7.45am, with the team of Finn Emily Penttila, Slovak Pia Babnik, and Englishwoman Georgina Blackman leading the rest of the field in the opening round.

For the local golf enthusiasts who would like to follow the home players, 17-year-old amateur Chanelle Wangari, will be the first Kenyan to tee at 8:07 am from the tenth and in the company of Nataliya Guseva and Lisa Pettersson from Sweden – who last year recorded the first hole-in-one at the event.

Thereafter, Naomi Wafula, who made history last year by becoming the first and only Kenyan to make the cut at the tournament, will begin her second attempt in the tournament at 8:40am alongside Kirsten Rudgeley from Australia and Madelene Stavnar from Norway.

Speaking on Wednesday in Vipingo, Naomi said she is aiming to finish higher at this year’s tournament having gotten good exposure at events in Europe since last year’s Magical Kenya Ladies Open.

“My main goal for tomorrow and the rest of the week is to do my best and not just make the cut, but also have a really good score that gives me the highest possible finish,” she said.

Johnnie Walker-sponsored Kenyan amateur, Mercy Nyanchama will tee-off at 9:02am alongside Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen from Denmark and Samantha Bruce from the Philippines. This will be Mercy’s fourth outing at the event, where she will be looking forward to making her first cut, having missed out on weekend action in the previous tournaments.

Meanwhile, Dubai-based Kenyan amateur golfer, Kellie Wahito Gachaga, and Vipingo-Ridge-based Jacquelyne Walter will be off at 9:13am and 1:16pm respectively as they begin their quest at the event.

This will be Kellie’s debut at the tournament where she will be looking to make the cut.

“The course is great though it all depends on the conditions. Sometimes the wind is very strong though as long as one stays on-course, there are good chances of bringing good scores’’ said Gachaga, who has been in Vipingo for the past six days practicing and getting used to the weather condition.

On the other hand, April Angurasaranee from Thailand has unfinished business in Vipingo having ended last year’s challenge tied in second. In the absence of the defending champion Aditi Ashok, April begins her campaign in the afternoon from 1:05pm as the top contender.

“I just have a lot of good memories here. Obviously, finishing second and just playing with many people in the first event. They are nice memories, everyone just made me comfortable and made me enjoy everything. The crowd is really nice. Everyone here just makes me feel right where I think I need to be.

“I think I like this course in general. It looks good visually and this year's condition is better than last year's. I think it's going to be really fun. The little extra stuff like giraffes and zebras, it's a nice element to have. Walking down the fairway and then just the giraffes casually walking the fairways, you don't get it anywhere. It’s a good experience’’ said Angurasarangee.

“My goal for the year, I want to get my first win obviously. I want to finish in the top 15 in the Order of Merit this year. Last year, I missed by one from my goal, but it was it was still a nice finish’’ she added.

Alice Hewson from England, who finished joint second with April last year, is another player to watch this time round, and so will be Diksha Dagar, the best-placed finisher at last season’s Order of Merit.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s Shannon Tan, a rookie on the tour, will also be one of the players likely to attract some following.

“It is my first time in Kenya. I am very excited about it. Before coming here, I was excited to begin with, so now that I am finally here, I am going to play my practice round in an hour or two. I am just excited to see what the course is like. I have heard about the course, but I want to see it. I have heard they've got animals, so that will be interesting”.

Judging from the condition of the course and the names in this year’s entry list, the Magical Kenya Ladies European Tour event is likely to be one of the best.

Besides the Kenya government which is supporting the event through Magical Kenya, other sponsors are Johnnie Walker, Safaricom’s Mpesa (Sh34.8m), Huawei Kenya, Kilifi County Government, and ABSA Kenya.