LADIES TOUR
Am event will be returning to Kenya
in December. Among the players
who took part in the Pro-Am event
include Florentyna Parker of England,
who has three Tour victories and was
a member of the 2017 Solheim Cup
team. Others are Laura Fuenfsteuck
from Germany and Amy Boulden of
Wales.
As the city of Mombasa prepares
to host elite women golfers, all
eyes will be squarely on the state
of the ladies game in Kenya and the
region in general. That the region
will be lacking any semblance of
representation at the Vipingo Ridge
round is a sad pointer of how the
game has stagnated on this front.
There are only three recognized lady
professional golfers in the region;
veteran Rose Naliaka and Bhavi Shah
from Kenya and Flavia Namakula
from Uganda.
“It is very unfortunate that we don’t
have a good number of lady pros
like South Africa. This has affected
professional growth of girls especially
at the grassroots. This event will
really boost the women’s game. We
need more opportunities to sensitize
masses on the importance of sports
as a career,” Naliaka advices.
To Bhavi Shah, the timing and
magnitude of the event is godsend
for women golfers in Kenya: “This
is really good for East Africa. We
need to create a larger pool of low
handicap lady golfers and invest in
them to step up to pro ranks.”
LET was started in 1978 and
operates tournaments across six
continents. Since its formation, the
Quick chat with Saleem
Haji, Director of Golf
Vipingo Ridge heart. He has been trying to get this
event to Kenya for the last 4 years or
so. It is also a fantastic Country and
has so much to offer
Q: How many players are expected? Q: Will this event become a
permanent fixture on the European
Tour ladies calendar?
The Field is expected to be 96
players
Q: Where will they be drawn from?
A: They will be drawn from the
relevant categories of Ladies
European Tour. The tour has
members from Countries all over the
world and so there should be a vast
variety of nationalities playing.
Q: Why was Kenya selected?
A: Ucom event Managing Director
spent many years in his youth living
and working in Kenya and it has
always had a special place in his
6
A: I believe the current contract is
for three years and we would hope
that it can only go from strength to
strength.
Q: Does Vipingo have the capacity
to host such an event?
A: Yes very much so and it was
designed with these types of events
in mind.
Q: How tough is the Vipingo
course? Will it pose enough
challenge to the visiting lady pros?
Ladies European Tour has crowned
more than 250 different winners
and 700 championship trophies
have been lifted by players from 28
different countries.
The par 72 Baobab Course at
Vipingo, is the only PGA accredited
golf course in Africa. It was designed
by David Jones, a former Kenya
Open Champion, a ‘Master’ PGA
Professional and a Director of the
European Tour. It is expected to
give the visiting elite women golfers
a different challenge owing to its
unique location as it lies between the
coastline and the rolling hills inland.
This, coupled with unpredictable
breezes and a meandering system of
lakes and streams running through
the course, will surely make Magical
Kenya Open a must-play event on
LET.
A: The Vipingo course is very long
(bearing in mind it is at sea level) and
the conditions in terms of wind make
it very tricky. The Ladies who visited
in January certainly found the course
very challenging.
Q: How will this event impact
development of ladies golf in Kenya
and East Africa?
A: I would hope that it will
encourage young Kenyan girls to
take up the game as it is through the
youth and younger generation that
golf in Kenya both men’s & ladies
categories can grow.
Q: Are there plans to host more
international events at Vipingo in
future?
A: Yes and we are in negotiations to
host other International events here.