Madoya, Kubwa motivated as over 50 players set to battle for the Sunshine Tour slots

Kenya's Magical Kenya Open players Justus Madoya, Mike Kisia and Daniel Nduva of Nyali Golf club during the Absa Sponsorship announcement of the 55th edition of the Magical Kenya Open at Muthaiga Golf Club on Tuesday, Feb 13, 2024. [Jonah Onyango, Standard] Home player Jastas Madoya is leaving no stone unturned as over 50 players converge at the Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort in Naivasha to seek qualification for the Sunshine Development Tour - East African Swing slots starting Monday. Madoya is hopeful of having a pie of the Sh1 million purse money on offer in the four-day qualifying event, also known as the Q-School contest. "I'm fit and ready. I'm out to secure my Sunshine Tour card in this championship and also to better my order of merit," Madoya told Standard Sport. "The Tour is the best thing to have ever happened to the Kenyan golfing scene. The series has come at an opportune time, going to South Africa to qualify for the Sunshine Tour and other global tournaments was hectic and too expensive, so the Tour has eased the job now," he underlined. Also salivating for the Sh 1 million purse, where the winner will walk home Sh 180,220 richer, is the Professional Golfers of Kenya vice-captain Jeff Kubwa. "I will be happy if I bag both the cash and the Sunshine Tour card, that's my aim in the tournament," Kubwa reiterated The Q-School qualifiers will award players with Sunshine Tour cards for the 2025/26 season, with the top ten finishers at the event earning invitations to play at the Sunshine Tour Final Stage Qualifier in Johannesburg, South Africa slated for April 8-11, 2025. Other local golfers who will be out punch tickets at the Q-School contest include the Magical Kenya Open (MKO) top Kenyan finisher, Riz Charania, Muthaiga Golf Club's Greg Snow, Nyali Golf and Country Club's Daniel Nduva, the Kibugu brothers - Mutahi and Njoroge, 1998 Kenya Open runner-up Jacob Okello, Alfred Nandwa, Michael Karanga, Samuel Chenge, Mohit Mediratta, Mike Kisia, David Wakhu, and Erick Ooko. From the East African region, the tournament has attracted interest of Ugandan, Tanzanian, Burundian, and Rwandese golfers who will battle it out against their Kenyan compatriots for the top honours. Among the regional players seeking glory in the tournament are Celestin Nsanzuwera, Byiringiro Jacques, Nsabimana Aloys, and Benjamin Mukisa from Rwanda; David Kamulindwa and Otile Ronald from Uganda; Nuru Mollel and Isaac Wanyeche from Tanzania; and Nkurunziza Salum from Burundi. The Sunshine Development Tour - East African Swing, is expected to offer professional golfers and elite amateurs, both men and women, a chance to play regular competitive golf tournaments organized in line with Sunshine Tour standards. The annual 10 to 15 legged series is expected to sharpen Kenyan players for future MKO championships and at the same time offer them Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, which are crucial for the players advancement, and essential for their Olympics and other global events qualifiers.Qualification to play golf at the Olympic Games is based on OWGR, with the top 15 players in the world automatically earning a spot. Thereafter, players are eligible based on world rankings with a maximum of up to two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15. As such, the Sunshine Development Tour - East Africa Swing offers Kenya, and her neighbours, a pathway to the Olympics that would have previously been out of reach owing to lack of enough tournaments offering OWGR points in the region. The Q-School is a mandatory prerequisite for earning the OWGR points on the East African Swing. "Ordinarily, Q-Schools don't offer Prize money, but we made a decision at IMG Kenya to kick start the Tour with an incentive for the professional golfers," said Peter Gacheru, IMG Kenya CEO, when announcing details of their partnership with The Sunshine Tour, earlier this week.

Madoya, Kubwa motivated as over 50 players set to battle for the Sunshine Tour slots

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Madoya, Kubwa motivated as over 50 players set to battle for the Sunshine Tour slots

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