First Lady Margaret Kenyatta has encouraged more women to take up professional golfing saying the sport presents opportunities for excellence just like athletics and other disciplines.
The First Lady said the increased number of women golfers participating in this year’s Magical Kenya Ladies Open was proof of the sport’s growing prospects.
“The increased number of women participating this season also demonstrates the potential and opportunity available for more women to join this exciting career,” the First Lady said.
First Lady Margaret Kenyatta spoke Sunday evening during the prize-giving ceremony of the Magical Kenya Ladies Open at Vipingo Ridge where she also encouraged talented youth to pursue sporting careers.
The First Lady congratulated the Kenya Ladies Golf Union and other stakeholders for the increased investment in nurturing of a new generation of Kenyan women professional golfers.
“I recognize and congratulate initiatives such as the US Kids Golf, spearheaded by the Kenya Ladies Golf Union, and the golf clinics held at Vipingo Ridge PGA Academy for their investment towards nurturing a new generation of professional golfers,” the First Lady said.
First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, who presented the Magical Kenya Ladies Open winners trophy to Esther Henseleit of Germany, said the 2020 ranking of Kenya as the best golf destination in Africa at the World Golf Awards was a vote of confidence in the country’s growing profile as a global golfing destination.
“It is truly an honour for Kenya to be hosting this prestigious Ladies Open after a two-year interruption following the Covid-19 pandemic, and yet it, is exciting because this time round, Kenya is hosting the first tournament of the season in sub-Saharan Africa, boasting a larger number of players, a wider global audience,” she said.
In their remarks, Sports CS Amina Mohammed and her tourism counterpart Najib Balala encouraged Kenya’s private sector to invest more in the Magical Kenya Ladies Open.
While listing several other international sporting events that will held in Kenya this year, CS Balala said his ministry had prioritized sports tourism as a key product.
The Magical Kenya Ladies Open is the season opener for the 2022 Ladies European Tour and brought to Kenya 96 elite golfers from 23 countries from across the world.
The closing ceremony of the Magical Kenya Ladies Open, which kicked off on Tuesday last week, was also addressed by Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa and Kilifi Deputy Governor Gideon Saburi among others.
