Magical Kenya Open

Magical Kenya Open

Magical Kenya Open
Nairobi, Kenya
Winner: Guido Migliozzi

The Kenya Open dates back to 1967 with Seve Ballesteros and Ian Woosnam among its former winners on the old Safari Tour. From 1991 it was a Challenge Tour event with Trevor Immelman and Edoardo Molinari among the champions. In its first edition as a European Tour event, Guido Migliozzi won the Magical Kenya Open for the Italian rookie’s maiden title. Migliozzi won three times on his last two seasons on the Alps Tour before earning his European Tour card at the qualifying school in November 2018. The 22-year-old has the distinction of being the first player signed by Modest Golf, a management company run by One Direction’s Niall Horan.

And now the first to win after Migliozzi secured a one-stroke victory at Karen over Spain’s Adri Arnaus and South Africans Louis de Jager and Justin Harding. A week after winning in Qatar, Harding set the clubhouse target at 15 under par with a closing 66. Migliozzi, the overnight leader with Arnaus, birdied the 12th to get to 16 under par and then parred in.

De Jager led by four strokes at the halfway stage, had a chance to birdie the 18th but his putt ran over the left edge of the hole. Arnaus only had a long range effort for a birdie at the last, but Migliozzi finished in style by hitting the flagstick at the 18th with his eight-iron approach. He then two-putted for a 69, while Arnaus had a 70. With earlier rounds of 67, 68 and 64, Migliozzi finished with a total of 268.

“I like this moment,” he said. “I love pressure, it’s like a drug, I love playing with a lot of people looking at me and a lot of cameras.”