The Kenya Open Golf Limited and the European Tour jointly announced that the Kenya Open had been rescheduled to take place from November 12-15 at Karen Country Club in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
The tournament was originally scheduled to take place from March 12-15 at the same venue but was postponed due to restrictions imposed by the Kenyan government due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, had indicated at the time that they were looking into the possibility of rescheduling the tournament at some point later in the season.
“The rescheduled Magical Kenya Open is part of the European Tour’s reshaped 2020 schedule, with all tournaments subject to the Tour’s stringent medical health strategy which will evolve in line with government guidance in the countries the Tour visits,” the Kenya Open Golf Limited said in a statement.
Kenya Open Golf Limited chairman Peter Kanyago said that the event will be televised live globally also giving Kenya’s tourism industry the boost it requires to start rebuilding after the devastation caused by the pandemic.
“The Kenya Open has been connected with the European Tour since the mid-1970s. We held the first designated full European Tour title event last year and we were all happy with the success. We would like to keep the momentum going by hosting the second European Tour event this year,” Kanyago said.
The European Tour’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer International Ben Cowan said that they were very pleased to be able to keep the proud tradition of the Magical Kenya Open going.
“We look forward to working with Keyna Open Golf Limited, the tournament partners and everyone in the local region in staging another successful edition as part of our reshaped 2020 season.”
About 144 players, among them six amateur golfers selected by the Kenya Golf Union, will be competing for a prize purse of €1 million.
The European Tour restarted earlier this week with a number of regulations as part of a health strategy to ensure a safe return to golf. The regulations include: rapid on-site COVID-19 testing services, daily symptom checks, social distancing and an improved standard of hygiene.
European Tour Chief Medical Officer Dr. Andrew Murray told the organisation’s media that the process players, caddies and staff members will now have to go through at each tournament is ‘some of the strictest screening and testing criteria on earth’.
This process involves needing a negative PCR test before travelling to the tournament, an additional test on arrival, and daily symptom questionnaires and temperature checks.
