Chinhoi relishes Euro tour
AFTER dominating the East Africa-based Safari Tour professional golf tour circuit, rising Zimbabwean professional golfer Robson Chinhoi is relishing the opportunity to test himself against some of the world’s leading golfers when he makes his European Tour debut in the Magical Kenya Open.
The European Tour co-sanctioned Magical Kenya Open will be played at the par-71 Karen Country Club from March 18 with a lucrative prize fund of €1 100 000 on offer for the expected star studded field.
Zimbabwe’s Chinhoi is poised to earn himself a spot in the field for the prestigious event after continuing his dominance on the Safari Tour circuit by bagging his third win of the season.
Top five Kenyans players in the ongoing 2020/2021 Safari Tour Pro Golf Series are assured of slots in the European Tour Magical Kenya Open next month.
Kenya Open Golf Limited (KOGL) general manager, Vincent Wang’ombe, confirmed top five locals in the “Road to Magical Kenya Open 2021” and Chinhoi have attained unassailable points.
“It is impossible to dislodge the top five Kenyans and Chinhoi, who are assured of slots,” Wangombe said.
The top five Kenyan pros are Tour leader Greg Snow (296.6 points), Dismas Indiza (275.9 points), David Wakhu (245.7 points), Simon Ngige (240.9 points) and Ooko Erick Obura (211.0 points).
Zimbabwe’s Chinhoi, who has been camping in Nairobi since the Tour started last October, is lying third on 260.6 points.
The 2020/21 Safari Tour, the only pro golf tour in East Africa, teed off at Limuru Country Club in October 2020, where Greg Snow emerged the winner. In the second week of October, Chinhoi staged a stunning penultimate day fight-back to emerge the victor at Royal.
Following cancellation of the 2020 Magical Kenya Open, organisers KOGL started a new season with qualifying scores.
Chinhoi also won the Uganda Open and the recent Nyali round.
The 31-year-old Nyanga-born golfer shook off stiff competition to beat Kenya’s well-known Dismas Indiza by a solitary shot to wrap up the seventh leg of the 2021 Safari Tour Pro Golf Series at the par 71 Nyali Golf and Country Club on Wednesday.
Chinhoi, however, blamed his poor putting for not winning the tournament, his third so far in the series, with under par scores after carding rounds of 73,69, 71 and 72 for a total of one-over par 285.
“I am hitting the ball pretty well so far, but putting was bad and it has actually been bad since I went home after the 2019/2020 season as I stayed there without playing or practising,” Chinhoi said, who won the second leg at Royal Nairobi, then went on to claim the Uganda Open title.
He said the course was not that difficult and one can easily make some good scores if one putts well.
“It’s a playable course with only a few holes, which one has to be very careful about. But all in all, I am happy that my game is all set for the Magical Kenya Open, though I will have to work on my putting to make sure that I am ready to go for the Open.”
According to reports from Kenya, Chinhoi started the day well, picking up an early birdie at the par five-first hole, but hit a bad approach at the second hole to drop two shots there, though he managed to pick one back at the fifth.
At the back nine, Chinhoi birdied the 11th and parred all the way up to the 18th where he had a long putt for a birdie.
He missed the birdie plus a par to finish the round with a bogey and one over par 72, which gave him an all-rounds total of one over par 285 to pocket Sh150,000 (US$1 366,74).
Chinhoi will remain in the Kenyan capital for the eighth leg of the Safari Tour which starts with the Pro-Am on Saturday before the pros embark on the main event from Sunday at Muthaiga Country Club is a club in Nairobi.