The Magical Kenya Open was first played in 1967 and formed part of the Challenge Tour beginning in 1991. It was elevated to the European Tour rotation in 2019 and moved to the Karen Country Club in Nairobi. With his victory in 2019, Guido Migliozzi is the defending champ after last year’s edition was canceled over COVID concerns. There has been a different winner in each of the last 27 playings and no two-time winners over that span. An American has never won this tournament, though Kurt Kitiyama opened as the betting favorite. Be sure to visit BookMaker.eu for a complete updated odds list and to place your wager.
Odds to Win Magical Kenya Open at BookMaker.eu
Kurt Kitayama +1600
Kalle Samooja +2000
Matthias Schwab +2000
Jamie Donaldson +2500
Guido Migliozzi +2500
George Coetzee +2800
Chris Paisley +2800
Aaron Rai +2800
Johannes Veerman +2800
Dean Burmester +3300
Joachim B. Hansen +3300
Justin Harding +3300
Romain Langasque +3300
Niklas Lemke +3300
Joost Luiten +3300
Calum Hill +4000
Jazz Janewattananond +4000
Wilco Nienaber +4000
Daniel van Tonder +4000
Garrick Higgo +4500
Wil Besseling +5000
Victor Dubuisson +5000
Darren Fichardt +5000
Sam Horsfield +5000
Jayden Trey Schaper +5000
Jordan Smith +5000
Marcus Armitage +6000
Louis De Jager +6000
Adrian Otaegui +6000
Maverick Antcliff +6600
Richard Bland +6600
Matthew Southgate +6600
Dale Whitnell +6600
Steven Brown +7000
Grant Forrest +7000
Masahiro Kawamura +7000
Scott Vincent +7000
Odds Analysis
George Coetzee +2800
I’m counting on last week’s second round implosion being a blip on the radar for Coetzee. The native South African has won four times on the continent and he was swinging a good stick before a 78 gave him an early exit at the Qatar Masters. He is one of the bigger names in the field and the price is inviting. And it’s not like he was playing poorly before last week. Coetzee finished 11th in Abu Dhabi and was T10 in Saudi Arabia before Qatar, so there’s reason to believe he’ll respond with a successful week.
Garrick Higgo +4500
During his short time on Tour Higgo has experienced the ups and downs. He had a strong run last year with a win and T3 among four top-10s in an eight-start stretch across the ET and Challenge Tours. He had a tough time in the Middle East before breaking out with a top-20 last week ahead of a return to Africa where he was a standout on the Sunshine Tour. That jolt of confidence last week is enough for me to show confidence in his game by throwing down on him.
Romain Langasque +3300
Going off recent results it’s hard to justify backing Langasque. But a deeper dive into his past at Karen gives us reason to believe the Frenchman could be worth a look. He posted four red numbers and finished three-shots off the lead with a T6 two years ago. He was even better on this layout during a Challenge Tour event in 2016 when he finished second at 15-under. He knows the course quite well with a scoring average of 68 during those two stops.
Matthias Schwab +2000
Driving accuracy and a strong approach game play well on the tight short Karen layout. Few on Tour have been better than Schwab the last few seasons. He stumbled at Qatar last week without his normal caddie, but the two will be reunited in Kenya. With that I expect to see Schwab return to the form that produced a pair of top-25s on the Middle East swing.
Daniel van Tonder +4000
Taking a step back last week, van Tonder regained some of the swagger that made him a legend on the Sunshine Tour with a playoff loss in the African Players Championship. He certainly is used to winning with four titles on the Sunshine Tour in the last seven months, and he’s torn up the Karen layout with four top-12 showings in his four starts. That’s good enough for me to back the South African.
Course: Karen Country Club – 6,922 yards, Par 71
At less than 7,000 yards, Karen is a short course by Tour standards. And playing in altitude shrinks the track even more. The layout forces players to think more and course management is a priority. There are hazards, but not to the extent of other tracks on Tour. It’s tree-lined with more of a traditional design and the bent grass greens and kikuya fairways are a reason why South Africans have thrived on this layout in the past. Keep the ball in play and you will go low. All the par-5s are reachable and should yield a number of birdie and eagle opportunities. Weather could be a factor with winds expected to gust during the week.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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