Legendary Golfer Jacob Okello Takes Scribes Through Paces Ahead Of 2025 Magical Kenya Open
Legendary golfer Jacob Okello taking scribes through paces at Golf Park in Nairobi ahead of next week’s Magical Kenya Open championship in Muthaiga that has attracted 150 players from across the globe. PHOTO/ SJAK
NAIROBI, Kenya- The DP World Tour has granted Kenya five additional slots in the 2025 Magical Kenya Open (MKO) golf championship slated for Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi on February 20-23.
This follows intense deliberations that involved the DP World Tour, the Professional Golfers of Kenya (PGK) and the MKO Local Organizing Committee.
The new development means local pros tally will swell from eight to 13 and the total number of participants in the tournament will increase from 144 to 150, following recent addition of Nyali golfer Adel Balala in the junior category.
The PGK has been tasked with the mandate to select the five additional pro golfers into the Kenyan team and among the favourites is the legendary and most decorated player Jacob Okello.
Okello is the only Kenyan to have ever made it into the global showpiece final where he lost in sudden death play-off to Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina.
Okello is already upping his training at Golf Park in Nairobi where he spent the whole Friday taking scribes through paces on how to cover the forthcoming MKO spectacle effectively.
Legendary golfer Jacob Okello taking scribes through paces at Golf Park in Nairobi ahead of next week’s Magical Kenya Open championship in Muthaiga that has attracted 150 players from across the globe. PHOTO/ SJAK
The steps involved course practical sessions, rules and regulations around the sports and the golf jargon centered around the “gentleman’s game”.
He taught the journalists how to utilise the clubs, perform the swings, putt, chip, tee-off and hit the balls on the vast range.
He took them through scorecard reading and marking process, identification of out of bounds (OB) balls, how to trudge the fairways, avoid hitting the roughs and the doping process in golf that normally attracts a four-year ban.
“I want to thank Absa Bank Kenya and Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) for making this rare seminar to happen,” Okello told Standard Sports.
“As a player, journalists play an integral part in the dissemination of news and it is just in order to help them get it right, and there is no better platform than this workshop that we have just had. It has equipped them with the right knowledge on how to cover the greatest golf tournament on earth, the DP World Tour which is just around the corner,” he added.
While hailing the scribes for turning up in large numbers to be equipped with the right knowledge on how to cover the 56th edition of the MKO, Absa Bank Kenya Communications Manager Yvonne Nkirote stated: “This is the third year we are partnering with SJAK and we are happy to be part of their growth and development. We appreciate the fact that journalists go out of their way to inform, educate and entertain the public in all fronts and that’s the reason we are supporting them with this seminar.”
Renowned international golf referee, Vincent Wang’ombe, who will also be officiating in the MKO next week, also took the journalists on the rules and regulations of the sports.
Wang’ombe underscored the role the media plays in sports coverage saying: “The press performs a key role in demystifying the game of golf and democratizing the sport. All through the years, the game has been viewed as a pastime or hobby for older people. This should not be the case; golf can be played by anyone from the ages of four to 94 years.”
Legendary golfer Jacob Okello taking scribes through paces at Golf Park in Nairobi ahead of next week’s Magical Kenya Open championship in Muthaiga that has attracted 150 players from across the globe. PHOTO/ SJAK
Kenya will be represented by 13 pros, four amateurs and two juniors in this year’s MKO already deemed as a cutthroat affair.
This year’s edition of the championship will be the most star-studded following entry of eight past champions including Darius Van Driel of Netherlands who will be defending the title.
MKO past champions who have confirmed entries
2024: Darius Van Driel (Dutch)
2023: Jorge Campillo (Spain)
2022: Ashun Wu (China)
2021: Justin Harding (South Africa). Also 2021 Savannah Classic champion.
2019: Guido Miggliozi (Italy). Also 2019 Challenger Tour winner.
2018: Lorenzo Gagli (Italy)
2016: Sebastian Soderberg (Sweden).
2014: Jake Roos (South Africa)
Kenya’s representative at this year MKO
Pros
1.Njoroge Kibugu (Muthaiga)
2.Greg Snow (Muthaiga)
3.David Wakhu (Golf Park)
4.Samuel Njoroge (Kenya Railway)
5.Dismas Indiza (Mumias)
6.Mohit Mediratta (Sigona)
7.Riz Charania (Windsor)
8.Edwin Mudanyi (Karen Country Club)
9.(Five more players to be named by the PGK)
Amateurs
1.Michael Karanga (Kiambu)
2 John Lejirma (Kenya Railway)
3.William Odek (Nyali)
4.Michael Alunga (Uganda).
Juniors
1.Shashwat Harish (Junior Golf Foundation)
2.Adel Balala (Nyali)
