Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
Andrew Oche Odoh is set to become the first Nigerian male professional golfer on the European Tour in two decades at the Magical Kenya Open, scheduled to tee off from March 12 through 15.
The record for the maiden appearance was set by the late Christian Godfrey, when he featured at the 2005 Omega European Masters at the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in Switzerland.
Odoh, who has been Nigeria’s top-rated golfer in the past 10 years, will be one of the players that will vie for the Euro 1.1 million purse when the tournament holds at the Karen Country Club outside Nairobi.
The Kenya Open, which is on the Safara Tour series, is considered the East and Central Africa’s premier annual golf event.
The tournament is in its 52nd year. It is also part of the PGA European Tour by virtue of first being listed on the European Challenge Tour in 1991. For the second time, it is also one of the European Tour’s “Race to Dubai’’ scoring events.
The entry list will feature 144 top golfers drawn from all over the world. Some of the top players expected at Karen include five former champions.
They include Hayden Porteous (South Africa), 2015; Sebastian Soderberg (Switzerland), 2016; Aaron Rai (England), 2017; Lorenzo Gagli (Italy), 2018 and last year’s defending champion Guido Migliozzi (Italy).
