Kenya Open

Magical Kenya Open

Tournament information
Location	Nairobi, Kenya
Established	1967
Course(s)	Karen Country Club
Par	71
Length	6,922 yards (6,329 m)
Tour(s)	Safari Circuit Challenge Tour European Tour
Format	Stroke play
Prize fund	€1,000,000
Month played	March
Tournament record score
Aggregate	263 Justin Harding (2021)
To par	−21 as above
Current champion
Justin Harding
Location Map
Karen CC Location in Kenya

The Kenya Open, titled as the Magical Kenya Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tournament in Kenya founded in 1967.^[1] In 2019, the Kenya Open became a European Tour event and was played in mid-March during the same week as The Players Championship on the PGA Tour.^[2]

The Kenya Open was an associate event on the Far East Circuit in 1967 and 1968,^[3][4] after which it became a cornerstone of the emerging Safari Circuit – a collection of tournaments initially in Kenya and Zambia, and then later in Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe.^[5] The European Tour, who had taken over running of the Safari Tour in the late 1970s, began to expand globally through the 1980s and those events formally became part of the second tier Challenge Tour in 1991. With the exception of the 1994 event, the Kenya Open remained on the Challenge Tour schedule until 2019 when it was elevated to the elite European Tour schedule.

The Kenya Open has always been held near Nairobi, at Muthaiga Golf Club (1967, 1969–2002, 2009–2012, 2017–2018) and at Karen Country Club (1968, 2004–2008, 2013–2016, 2019, 2021).

The title has been won by some of Europe's Ryder Cup golfers, including Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam, Ken Brown, Edoardo Molinari and Christy O'Connor Jnr, as well as future Masters champion Trevor Immelman. The most successful player is England's Maurice Bembridge, who recorded three victories between 1968 and 1979.

Winners[]

Year	Tour[a]	Winner	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Venue	Ref.
Magical Kenya Open presented by Johnnie Walker
2021	EUR	Justin Harding	263	−21	2 strokes	Kurt Kitayama	Karen
Magical Kenya Open
2020	EUR	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic						[6]
Magical Kenya Open presented by Absa
2019	EUR	Guido Migliozzi	268	−16	1 stroke	Adri Arnaus Louis de Jager Justin Harding	Karen	[7]
Barclays Kenya Open
2018	CHA	Lorenzo Gagli	273	−11	Playoff	Jens Fahrbring	Muthaiga	[8]
2017	CHA	Aaron Rai	267	−17	3 strokes	Adrien Saddier	Muthaiga	[9]
2016	CHA	Sebastian Söderberg	270	−18	3 strokes	Romain Langasque	Karen	[10]
2015	CHA	Haydn Porteous	271	−17	Playoff	Brandon Stone	Karen
2014	CHA	Jake Roos	278	−10	1 stroke	Lasse Jensen	Karen	[11]
2013	CHA	Jordi García Pinto	272	−12	1 stroke	Tim Sluiter	Karen	[12]
2012	CHA	Seve Benson	274	−10	Playoff	Lasse Jensen	Muthaiga	[13]
2011	CHA	Michiel Bothma	270	−14	2 strokes		Muthaiga	[14]
Kenya Open
2010	CHA	Robert Dinwiddie	272	−12	3 strokes	Julio Zapata	Muthaiga	[15]
Tusker Kenya Open
2009	CHA	Gary Boyd	271	−13	4 strokes	Andrew Butterfield Philip Golding	Muthaiga	[16]
2008	CHA	Iain Pyman	272	−12	3 strokes		Karen	[17]
2007	CHA	Edoardo Molinari	274	−6	1 stroke	James Kamte	Karen	[18]
2006	CHA	Johan Axgren	270	−10	4 strokes	James Hepworth Gary Lockerbie	Karen	[19]
2005	CHA	Daniel Vancsik	272	−8	3 strokes		Karen	[20]
Kenya Open
2004	CHA	Marc Cayeux	270	−10	Playoff	Leif Westerberg	Karen	[21]
2003: No tournament
Sameer Kenya Open
2002	CHA	Lee S. James	265	−19	3 strokes	Titch Moore	Muthaiga	[22]
Tusker Kenya Open
2001	CHA	Ashley Roestoff	271	−13	Playoff	Andrew Sherborne	Muthaiga	[23]
2000	CHA	Trevor Immelman	270	−14	4 strokes	Henrik Stenson	Muthaiga	[24]
1999	CHA	Maarten Lafeber	265	−19	3 strokes		Muthaiga	[25]
1998	CHA	Ricardo González	272	−12	Playoff		Muthaiga
Lonrho Kenya Open
1997	CHA	Jorge Berendt	268	−16	4 strokes		Muthaiga
Kenya Open
1996	CHA	Mike Miller	272	−12	Playoff	Robert Lee	Muthaiga
1995	CHA		265	−19	5 strokes	Thomas Bjørn Chris Williams	Muthaiga
1994			276	−8	Playoff	Glenn Ralph	Muthaiga
1993	CHA		276	−8	Playoff	Daniel Westermark	Muthaiga
Standard Chartered Kenya Open
1992	CHA	André Bossert	272	−12	1 stroke		Muthaiga
1991	CHA	Jeremy Robinson	269	−15	5 strokes	Paul Affleck Philip Golding	Muthaiga
555 Kenya Open
1990	SAF	Christy O'Connor Jnr	271	−13	2 strokes		Muthaiga	[26]
1989	SAF	David Jones	271	−13	3 strokes	Mark Mouland	Muthaiga	[27]
1988	SAF		271	−13	1 stroke	Mark Mouland	Muthaiga	[28]
1987	SAF	Carl Mason	275	−9	Playoff	Gordon J. Brand Roger Chapman	Muthaiga	[29]
1986	SAF	Ian Woosnam	273	−11	Playoff	Bill Longmuir	Muthaiga	[30]
1985	SAF		278	−6	1 stroke	Brian Waites	Muthaiga	[31]
1984	SAF	José María Cañizares	277	−7	Playoff	David J. Russell	Muthaiga	[32]
Benson & Hedges Kenya Open
1983	SAF	Ken Brown	274	−10	1 stroke	Jeff Hall	Muthaiga	[33]
1982	SAF	Eamonn Darcy	274	−10	1 stroke	David Jagger	Muthaiga	[34]
1981	SAF	Brian Barnes	274	−10	1 stroke	Bernard Gallacher Sandy Lyle	Muthaiga	[35]
1980	SAF	Brian Waites	271	−13	1 stroke	Bill Longmuir	Muthaiga	[36][37]
1979	SAF	Maurice Bembridge (3)	271	−13	Playoff	Bernard Gallacher	Muthaiga	[38]
Kenya Open
1978	SAF	Seve Ballesteros	274	−10	1 stroke	Bernard Gallacher	Muthaiga	[39]
1977	SAF	Liam Higgins	283	−1	1 stroke		Muthaiga	[40]
1976: No tournament due to economic problems								[1]
1975			276	−12	Playoff	Jack Newton	Muthaiga	[41]
1974		David Jagger	274	−14	1 stroke	Malcolm Gregson	Muthaiga	[42]
1973		Jan Dorrestein (2)	276	−12	1 stroke	David Jagger	Muthaiga	[43]
1972		David Llewellyn	279	−9	2 strokes		Muthaiga	[44]
1971		Ernie Jones	283	−5	Playoff		Muthaiga	[45]
1970		Jan Dorrestein	273	−15	14 strokes	Malcolm Gregson Ronnie Shade Bob Tuohy	Muthaiga	[46]
1969		Maurice Bembridge (2)	279	−9	5 strokes	Bernard Gallacher	Muthaiga	[47]
1968		Maurice Bembridge	289	+1	2 strokes	Terry Westbrook	Karen	[48]
1967		Guy Wolstenholme	279	−9	4 strokes	Peter Thomson	Muthaiga	[49][50]

References[]

External links[]

• Coverage on the European Tour's official site
• Coverage on the Challenge Tour's official site
• Kenya Golf Union home page at the Wayback Machine (archived 24 November 2009)

Coordinates: 1°20′28″S 36°42′55″E / 1.3412°S 36.7152°E / -1.3412; 36.7152