Millions at stake as Sunshine Development tour, East Africa Swing tourney gets underway
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Reading Time: 3min | Wed. 21.05.25. | 19:46
Thika Greens and Ruiru events will serve as the 2025/2026 season-opener events for what is scheduled to be a 15-event season across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda, commencing in June this year and culminating in February next year
The inaugural season of the Sunshine Development tour, East Africa Swing, is set to tee off with back-to-back events starting at the Thika Greens Golf Resort from the 3 to 6 June, before moving to the Ruiru Sports Club from the 9 to 11 June.
The two mixed events are set to attract professional and elite amateurs drawn from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi playing over 54 holes and for a stake of the Ksh2 Million prize purse at each event.
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This will be the first opportunity for the players who participated in the Q-School event earlier in April at the Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort, to earn valuable Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points on the East Africa Swing.
The two events are expected to attract a mixed field of over 80 golfers each from across the region as well as 15 invited players from South Africa's Big Easy Tour and will each feature a cut after 36 holes to determine the field for the final round.
Thika Greens and Ruiru events will serve as the 2025/2026 season-opener events for what is scheduled to be a 15-event season across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda, commencing in June this year and culminating in February next year.
Commenting on the double-header start to the season, the East Africa Swing tour promoter, Charles Gacheru said organisers were looking forward to a great three days of golf from the elite field.
“We are looking to host around fifteen events across the region, and between now and the grand finale in February 2026, we will be unveiling the entire calendar once conversations with our partners are concluded," he revealed.
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 31 March to 3 April 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 top ten players from the event also earned coveted slots to compete in the Sunshine Tour Final Stage Qualifier, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, last month, where Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club's Njoroge Kibugu was Kenya’s best finisher in a tie for 40th after making the Cut to play in the final round.
In addition, all participants at the Q-School event received playing cards for the East Africa Swing events.
These events not only offer Sunshine Development Tour points but also Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, providing local and regional players with increased opportunities to rise through the global golfing ranks.
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