Damien Kayat previews the 2022 edition of the Kenya Open taking place at the Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi.
2022 DP World Tour
Magical Kenya Open
Muthaiga Golf Club, Nairobi, Kenya
3rd-6th March
The DP World Tour Returns
The DP World Tour returns to action this week following a two-week hiatus. Considering all the issues that beset Europe at present, perhaps it’s ideal that the tour finds itself on foreign soil this week.
Many will be surprised to hear that the Kenya Open actually dates back to 1967. The likes of Seve Ballesteros and Ian Woosnam tasted success in the glory days of this event.
It was originally conceived as part of the emerging Safari Circuit and was only incorporated officially into the European fold in 1991 (where it was assimilated into the second tier Challenge Tour).
It was only elevated to full European Tour status in 2019. It was cancelled in 2020 due to the ongoing global pandemic. It returned last year, making this the 3rd renewal of the newly rebranded Magical Kenya Open.
After two years at Karen Golf Course in Nairobi, the tournament will move north to Muthaiga Golf Club.
Magical Muthiaga
Sitting on the edge of the Karura forest, Muthaiga is a tree-lined track with plenty of water to consider. It hosted the inaugural Kenya Open in 1967 and this will be the 40th staging of this event at Muthaiga.
This is certainly a very idiosyncratic course that almost feels like a game of two halves. And there’s a good reason for that. The course started life as a nine-hole course in 1913, with the second nine being added in 1926.
The front nine plays considerably longer and moves through undulating terrain. The second line, though shorter, is arguably more daunting due to the looming presence of several man-man lakes.
Though it’s said to measure at around 7,200 yards, this course will play considerably shorter due to the altitude this week. Players will need to take advantage of the four gettable par 5’s.
I would look for players who have enjoyed success on similarly tree-lined affairs. Perhaps look for players who have had some success on courses like Wentworth and Valderrama (two bastions of tree-lined European golf).
Plenty of South African interest
This was never going to attract the sexiest of fields, was it? Unsurprisingly, there’s a strong South African contingent in the mix this week. The likes of Dean Burmester and Justin Harding should be in the running this week.
Harding is the defending champion and he will be licking his lips at the relative quality of this field. I was slightly surprised to see Burmester leading the markets ahead of Adri Arnaus.
Still yet to break his DP World Tour duck, Arnaus has been playing some incredibly consistent golf of late. After a two-week break, I would also look for the guys who are perhaps most consistent in the field (the likes of Thomas Detry and Johannes Veerman spring to mind).
Past Winners
2021: Justin Harding (-21)
2020: no event due to pandemic
2019: Guido Migliozzi (-16)
To Win Outright:
Dean Burmester 12/1 | Adri Arnaus 14/1 | Adrian Meronk 16/1 | Justin Harding 16/1 | Thomas Detry 20/1
Value Bets
Richie Ramsay- To Win 66/1 | To Place 14/1
The gritty Scot has made a decent start to the season despite playing on courses that don’t really suit his accuracy-based game. He has 2022 form figures of 25-32-MC-33. Ramsay won his first professional event in South Africa and should suit this layout. He actually sat 3rd at the halfway point in last year’s Kenya Open. But a 3rd round 77 completely derailed his chances of victory. But this course should suit him more than Karen Golf Club. This is a man who simply loves these surgical, tree-lined tests. He has won at Crans and came close at Valderrama.
Guido Migliozzi- To Win 110/1 | To Place 24/1
Sure, the Italian is currently in an awful run of form. He has only made one cut this season, with a best finish of T67. But the talented Italian is just too good for that form to last. Migliozzi won this event at Karen Golf Club in 2019 and is clearly comfortable with these conditions. In 2021, he ranked 16th on tour for par 5 scoring. That could prove pivotal this week. Migliozzi is a two-time DP World Tour champion and he actually had several close shaves last year. He finished joint runner-up at the Qatar Masters and lost in a playoff at the British Masters. He also finished 2nd at the Made in HimmerLand event. Lest we forget, he produced a sensational T4 performance at the US Open. He has a healthy penchant for finding himself in the mix and this week could prove a turning point for him.
The Man to Beat- Adri Arnaus- To Win 14/1 | To Place 3/1
This one just seems like a no-brainer in this severely depleted field. This should offer Arnaus the perfect opportunity to finally bag that maiden DP World Tour title. Sure, he missed the cut here when playing on the Challenge Tour in 2018. And his gung-ho style doesn’t ideally fit this tree-lined test. But I think he will decimate the par 5’s this week. Arnaus is a man in brilliant form, with four top 10’s in his last six professional starts. That included an incredible solo 3rd in a stacked field at this year’s Saudi International.
