Ninety golfers have confirmed their participation in the first leg of the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing, set for Tuesday, 3rd June to Thursday 5th June 2025 at the par-72 Thika Greens Golf Resort.
The mixed field, which comprises of professionals and elite amateurs drawn from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and South Africa, is led by Kigali Golf Resort & Villa’s Celestin Nsanzuwera, who won the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing Qualifying School (Q-School) and Windsor Golf Club’s Njoroge Kibugu who was the best placed Kenyan at the final Q-School event played in South Africa.
The players will be playing through 54 holes for a stake of the KES 2 million prize kitty. Others in the field include Vipingo Golf Resort’s Naomi Wafula, three-time Kenya Ladies Open winner Joyce Wanjiru, and the current KAGC top three ranked amateurs in John Lejirma, Michael Karanga and Elvis Muigua.
Kenya’s seasoned pros Greg Snow, Dismas Indiza, Jacob Okello, Rizwan Charania and David Wakhu will also be in the field alongside Uganda’s Ronald Rugumayo, Tanzania’s Nuru Mollel and Isaac Wanyeche who are expected to lead the regional charge.
Taking up the invitational slots from South Africa’s Big Easy Tour are; Travis Ladner, Reece Mckain and Jonathan Ackerman.
Speaking on the entries received, the East Africa Swing tour promoter, Charles Gacheru said:
“We are excited to see such great interest from the players around the continent, the entries we have received are really encouraging and we now look forward to a great three days of golf at the Thika Greens Golf Resort, as we tee off the East Africa Swing.”
Action at Thika Greens is expected to tee off early morning throughout the three days of play, with a CUT being applied after 36 holes, to determine who will proceed to the final round for a stake of the KES 2 Million prize fund, with the winner set to take home KES 400,000.
From Thika Greens, the second leg of the tour will be hosted at the Ruiru Sports Club, from the 9th to the 11th of June, where the players will play for a similar prize kitty. The rest of the events on the tour will be announced later.
The Sunshine Tour, one of the premier professional golf tours globally, officially expanded its footprint into Kenya and the East African region with the introduction of the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing in March.
This series is designed to provide a pathway for professional golfers and elite amateurs to compete in regular, high-caliber tournaments aligned with Sunshine Tour standards.
The tour teed off with a qualifying event (Q-School) held from March 31st to April 3rd, 2025, at the Great Rift Valley Lodge & Golf Resort in Naivasha, where Rwandese golfer Celestin Nsanzuwera emerged as the winner of the event, which featured a KSh1 million prize purse.
The events on this tour not only offer Sunshine Development Tour points but also opportunities to play in the South Africa’s Big Easy Tour, in addition to earning Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, providing local and regional players with increased opportunities to rise through the global golfing ranks.