Players Laud KCB Karen Masters – Sunshine Tour
There has been excitement all around since the announcement that the Sunshine Tour will be venturing into East Africa for the first time when staging the KCB Karen Masters next month, but what lies ahead for these glory-chasing professionals?
Sponsored by KCB Bank, the $150,000 tournament is a new addition to the Sunshine Tour schedule and it will be played at the Karen Country Club from 19 to 22 July and has been met with some excitement by professional golfers on tour.
“It’s a great step,” said Merrick Bremner about the Tour venturing into the continent. “but luckily for me, I have played the course before and I really liked the layout.”
Echoing Bremner’s sentiments, Jake Roos saluted the Sunshine Tour and the partners who made this tournament a reality.
“It’s an exciting new event with a nice prize money for us pros,” Roos said. “This is important because it comes at a time of the year when things are quiet and I think all the pros are very happy about it. And, Kenya is a golfing nation, they have had a Challenge Tour event there for many years now, so for our tour to go there is very important for Africa.”
With all that excitement, however, comes a reality that any player looking to make history by becoming the inaugural champion must still play the golf course, and Roos and Bremner have had that experience and know what to expect.
“It’s just another golf course for me,” Bremner said, before adding, “but that said, there are some really good holes. The third, I think it’s a par-five, it’s an extremely difficult tee shot. 13 is also a good hole and 18 is very strong too. It will be exciting to play there again.”
Roos, on the other hand, feels a lot of the players will enjoy what he calls ‘the old school golf course’. “It’s one of those traditional African courses, old-style tight like a lot of the African courses,” he said, “it’s not wide open so you will have to hit it quite accurately. The last time I was there the course was in great nick so I think the boys are going to enjoy it.”
While it will not be clear until the Sunday of the final round who will make history by claiming the inaugural Karen Masters on the Sunshine Tour, one thing is certain: the tournament is an historic feat for the Sunshine Tour and an even bigger cause for celebration among Kenyans.
