SAFARI TOUR
Safari Tour Calendar 2019/20
Event
Prize Money
Nyali Golf and Country Club (US$10,000)
Uganda Open (Serena-Uganda) (US$50,000)
Royal Nairobi Golf Club (US$10,000)
Entebbe Open (Uganda) (US$10,000)
Kitante Open (Uganda) (US$10,000)
Rwanda Open (US$30,000)
Great Rift Valley Golf Club (US$10,000)
Muthaiga Golf Club (US$10,000)
Thika Greens (US$10,000)
Sigona Golf Club (US$10,000)
Karen Country Club (US$10,000)
Tanzania Open (Kiligolf)
(US$10,000 TBC)
Tony Omuli winner of the Royal Safari Tour leg
that the prize fund is not attractive
granted that they have to traverse
across the region in pursuit of the
prize, making it a very expensive
venture. Under the Tour rules,
players’ must participate in at least
10 events. Only 20 players make
the cut in every event meaning
that the cash pool is very limited.
KOGL Director Patrick Obath says
plans are underway to improve on
the prize fund to make the events
more competitive. “We are gradually
building the prize money. We are
engaging more sponsors as we target
to reach $25,000 to $30,000 per
event,” Mr. Obath noted.
The introduction of a bonus points
system is also giving the pros
This year’s Safari Tour is extremely
competitive. A part from increasing
the number of events, extending the
Tour to neighbouring countries and
inviting pros from as far as Nigeria
and Malawi has made it very exciting.
This will ensure that players who will
qualify for Kenya Open will be in great
shape. The playing conditions have
been made tougher especially the
course conditions. As a result of this,
no player has met the -3 target set
by Safari Tour organizers for bonus
earnings. The organizers should
consider making the course conditions
friendlier to encourage players to post
better scores. Pin positions at the
three tournaments we have played
so far have been tougher than Kenya
Open and Karen Masters! Going by
last year’s performance, a target of -1
would have been more realistic. We
would like to thank the organizers for
ensuring that there’s reasonable prize
money at every event. However we
feel that this should be increased to
attract more players and to enable
us to cover our costs. Perhaps with
hindsight, organizers should have
retained the number of events but
increased the purse. We are optimistic
that Safari Tour will grow in stature so
that pros can look at the tournament
as a source of livelihood. We need
to go beyond the current target of
using Safari Tour to select players
to Kenya Open. We would like to
see Kenya Open Golf Limited help
us get opportunities to play outside
the country especially for Safari Tour
members who perform well at Kenya
Open.
CJ Wangai- Captain, professional Golfers
of Kenya