NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 30 – Barclays Bank of Kenya on Saturday launched the Barclays Golf festival- a series of eight golf tournaments that will culminate in the 50th anniversary of the Kenya Open in March 2018.
The eight tournaments, which will be run in partnership with the Kenya Open Golf Limited (KOGL), will be held in Eldoret, Nairobi (2), Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Machakos and Thika over the next 5 months with the bank investing Sh15m in the golf series.
Speaking during the launch, Barclays Bank Managing Director Jeremy Awori said that the Barclays Golf Festival highlights the bank’s commitment to the continued development of the game in the country by creating platforms that enables golf in Kenya to grow.
“The golf tournaments on the Road to Barclays Kenya Open will give our Pros a great platform to prepare for the main tournament and expose amateur players. Through the series, we shall bring the Barclays Kenya Open experience to local clubs across the country and take that opportunity to engage with our customers,” Awori said.
We shall also be conducting golf clinics for new and aspiring golfers as part of our commitment to growing the game of golf in Kenya,” he said.
Kenya Open Golf Limited Tournament Director Patrick Obath said that plans are in place to increase the prize money from Sh26.8m (Euros 220,000) to Sh73.1m (Euros 600,000) as part of the 50-year celebration.
“This year the President challenged us to enhance the profile of Kenya Open tournament and we now have a perfect opportunity as we celebrate this milestone. We are talking to a few partners including our title sponsors Barclays to increase the prize money. Our objective is to raise the prize money to Euros 1 million in the next two years,” Obath declared.
Last year, Barclays renewed its title sponsorship of the Kenya Open for three years with an investment of Sh90m. The current sponsorship runs up to 2018 making Barclays the longest title sponsor in the 50-year history of the Kenya Open.
“Both Barclays and the Barclays Kenya Open have been part of Kenyan life for many years – over 100 years in our case and 50 years for the Open itself. As well as developing Kenya’s players to be world class, the development of golf has created economic growth in regions across the country through tourism, hospitality and the chain of suppliers serving every golf club in the tour,” Awori asserted.
The 50th edition of the Barclays Kenya Open will be held at Muthaiga Golf Club in March 2018 from 21st to 25th.
