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NAIROBI, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has scored a second European Tour golfing event with the addition of the Savannah Classic to the 2021 international schedule.
The 72-hole stroke play event is scheduled to run from March 23-26 in Nairobi and will form a double-header with the previously announced Magical Kenya Open, which will be played at the same venue the week before, from March 18-21.
Both tournaments will be played under the auspices of the European Tour's health strategy, which will be aligned with the Kenyan government's guidance on COVID-19 protocols.
"The addition of the Kenya Savannah Classic to our 2021 schedule offers vital playing opportunities for our members, while having two consecutive tournaments in Nairobi follows our strategy of playing in geographical clusters to reduce traveling as much as possible at the moment," Keith Pelley, CEO of the European Tour said in a statement.
The return of international golf to Kenya after a year out due to the global pandemic was welcomed by the local organizers following the cancellation of the 2020 Magical Kenya Open.
"We were disappointed not to be able to play the Magical Kenya Open last year after it became a full European Tour event in 2019, but as we continue to prepare for this year's tournament, we are now also very pleased to add a second event, the Kenya Savannah Classic," Peter Kanyago, the Chairman of the Kenya Open Golf Limited, said in the same brief.
Kanyago said these two consecutive events in Nairobi will extend the proud tradition of professional tournament golf in the country, which dates back to the late-1960s, and will once again be showcasing Kenya to an international television audience.
The Kenya Open was first played in 1967. It became a European Challenge Tour event in 1991 and then a full European Tour event in 2019 when Italy's Guido Migliozzi claimed the title by one shot.
The Kenya Savannah Classic will be the 16th new event created by the European Tour since its resumption last July following a three-month suspension of tournament golf due to the global pandemic. Enditem