Five things to know ahead of the Kenya Savannah Classic supported by Absa as it makes its debut at Karen Country Club.
A new tournament
This week’s Kenya Savannah Classic supported by Absa makes its debut on the European Tour schedule this week, starting on Tuesday 23rd March.
It will be the second consecutive event to be held at Karen Country Club after last week’s Magical Kenya Open presented by Johnnie Walker, which was won by South Africa’s Justin Harding.
Win number two for @JustinHarding60 🏆🏆#MagicalKenyaOpen Champion 👏 pic.twitter.com/YxB8E3JNss
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) March 21, 2021
History at Karen Country Club
Last week’s Magical Kenya Open marked just the second time the event has appeared on the International Schedule, and despite a rich history of hosting the Kenyan Open that dates back more than 50 years, this will be the first time Karen Country Club has hosted a European Tour event other than Kenya’s national open.
It comes immediately after a record-breaking week on the course at Karen Country Club. In addition to Johannes Veerman's new course record of 62, Ondrej Lieser of the Czech Republic carded the first albatross of the 2021 Race to Dubai - which was just the second albatross recorded at Karen Country Club since hole-by-hole statistics began in 1999. The other came on the Challenge Tour, Benjamin Hebert carding an albatross at the second hole in 2013.
Harding hoping to carry momentum
Justin Harding will be hoping to become the first player to win back-to-back events on the European Tour since Justin Rose in the 2017 WGC-HSBC Champions and 2017 Turkish Airlines Open.
The South African, who carded a bogey-free 66 on his way to a two-stroke victory at the Magical Kenya Open, said he was optimistic and excited about the prospect of playing at the same course where he lifted a trophy on Sunday.
“I’m actually going to enjoy it,” said Harding. “It’s exciting, obviously I’ve been playing well and it gives me an opportunity to keep going.
“I think it will be good. I will probably still feel like I won the day before when I tee up on Tuesday, but I like Kenya, I’ve had an unbelievable run of success here and it's just a nice place to be. The people are spectacular, they are friendly, and ultimately everyone is just enjoying their time here.
“I think fortunately enough it’s not a really long golf course and it’s a relatively easy walk. It’s a pleasant golf course as well, you have fun, you can drive it on a bunch of par fours and knock it on greens it feels like there’s always a chance and opportunity to let something happen.”
Inside the field
As Harding hopes to go back-to-back, several of last week's players will be hopeful they can build on their own impressive form.
Kurt Kitayama's second place finish was his second top 10 in a row, while defending champion Guido Migliozzi finished 12th following his own runner-up at the Qatar Masters the previous week.
Meanwhile, Romain Langasque continued his exceptional form at Karen Country Club last week with a tie for fifth, which he adds to a resume on this course that also includes a runner-up on the Challenge Tour in 2016 and a tied sixth finish on the European Tour in 2019.
“This is a place where I feel really good,” said Langasque. “I finished second here on the Challenge Tour, I think I finished sixth two years ago too, and it’s a course that really suits my game. I play really offensively here and I feel really good out on that course and I enjoy being here.”
#GOLFFORGOOD
The European Tour’s Golf for Good initiative and tournament partners Absa have joined forces to support local charitable causes during the Kenya double-header, it was announced this week.
• KES 3,762,000 (approx. €30,301) has already been raised at the Magical Kenya Open presented by Johnnie Walker and further funds set to be raised at this week’s Kenya Savannah Classic supported by Absa.
• Absa - official banking partner of the Magical Kenya Open and the presenting sponsor of the Kenya Savanna Classic - offered to donate Kes1,000 (Kenyan shillings) for every single birdie made at Karen Country Club throughout the back-to-back European Tour events in Kenya
• Golf for Good - the overarching umbrella for the European Tour’s CSR activities - will match those donations through its Every Birdie Counts campaign, meaning that for all the birdies made last week in the Magical Kenya Open, as well as those made at this week’s Kenya Savannah Classic, a grand total of Kes 2,000 (approximately €15) will be donated for each birdie
• 1,881 birdies were made at last week’s Magical Kenya Open, with 21 of those coming from tournament winner Justin Harding of South Africa – who set a new tournament record for lowest winning score on 21 under par
