Finance CS leads VIP guest players at Kenya Ladies Open Pro-Am
Kenyan amatuer golfer Mercy Nyachama during a practice round in Vipingo Ridge in Kilifi County on February 6, 2024.
What you need to know:
- On the other hand, German pro Patricia Isabel Schmidt - winner of the 2023 Belgian Ladies Open - will team up with National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u, Ambassador Josphat Maikara, and Ambassador Moi Lemoshira in what should be an interesting four-ball to watch from 11:10am.
- Former Ingarö Ladies Open champion Marta Sanz Barrio from Spain will take to the course at 12:35pm in the company of Sheng Kaifu, Millicent Melo, and Nelson Wanyonyi.
Preparations are in full swing ahead of the fourth edition of the Magical Kenya Ladies Open with the curtain-raising Pro-Am set for Wednesday at the PGA Baobab Course, Vipingo Ridge in Kilifi County.
A fairly good field of 190 golfers – including Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u - was drawn and will be converging as early as 7am where amateur golfers, mostly from the corporate world, will team up with Ladies European Tour (LET) professionals for an exciting round of golf, ahead of the main tournament which tees-off proper Thursday.
The team led by Polish golfer Dorota Zalewska, and comprising of Esther Waititu, Doris Night, and Willy Mastermet, will be first off at 7am, followed by the team led by 24-year-old Teresa Diez Moliner from Spain comprising of Kishan Dhanji Raghwani, Vinay Nilesh Kerai, and John Gitonga at 7:10am.
The 22-year-old Annabell Fuller, the 2020 English Women’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship winner, will be partnering Rishi Dodhia, Saj Shah, and Aamil Mughal at 9:25am.
On the other hand, German pro Patricia Isabel Schmidt - winner of the 2023 Belgian Ladies Open - will team up with National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u, Ambassador Josphat Maikara, and Ambassador Moi Lemoshira in what should be an interesting four-ball to watch from 11:10am.
Former Ingarö Ladies Open champion Marta Sanz Barrio from Spain will take to the course at 12:35pm in the company of Sheng Kaifu, Millicent Melo, and Nelson Wanyonyi.
Meanwhile, Kristýna Napoleaová, the 2023 Amundi German Masters champion from the Czech Republic, will tee off at 14:10 alongside newly elected Kenya Golf Union (KLGU) Chairman Jane Nzibo, her vice Rosemary Mkok, and Mitansh Thacker.
Other notable players who will be in action in the pro-am which also offers the players and opportunity to test the course prior to the big.
Other leading pros
They include last year’s Magical Kenya Ladies Open hole-in-one sensation, Lisa Pettersson, who will lead her team off the tee at 12:30pm with German Alexandra Forsterling, winner of the 2023 VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open and the 2023 Mallorca Ladies Open, set for a 12.50pm tee off in the company of with Dennis Maari, Lilian Njunguna, and Vet Lab’s Rachel Ndei.
Other leading pros expected to battle it out in the Pro-Am will be English pro Alice Hewson, who secured second place in last year’s edition, and who will be in the company of Yusuf Omari, James Kamau Mburu, and Aiddah Kabukuru.
Kenyan elite amateur, Naomi Wafula, joins Kenya Airports Authority Chairman Caleb Kositany, Giancarlo Bonnano, and Nelius Kariuki.
The Magical Kenya Ladies Open is again being sponsored this by The Government of Kenya, Safaricom’s Mpesa, ABSA Kenya, Johnnie Walker, Huawei Kenya, and the Kilifi County Government.
