Out of the Rough: Magical Kenya Open (2026)

It’s time for one of my favorite events of not only the DP World Tour, but the entire golfing world in the Magical Kenya Open.

Following a week off, the DP World Tour turns its attention to the Karen Country Club in Nairobi, Kenya for the first of three stops in Africa to complete the International Swing.

This event has been in existence since 1967. It was a mainstay of the Challenge Tour beginning in 1991.

The Magical Kenya Open has now been a part of the DP World Tour since 2019 as this year marks the seventh playing, as the 2020 edition was canceled due to the pandemic.

The Muthaiga Golf Club has played host to this event since 2022 but this year’s installment will return to the inaugural host, the Karen Country Club. The Karen Golf Course hosted this event in 2019 and 2021 before it was moved to the Muthaiga Golf Club. 

The Field

A field of DP World Tour regulars lead the charge as the Tour heads to Africa for the third time this season and first of the calendar year.

The likes of Calum Hill, Freddy Schott, Dan Bradbury, Shaun Norris, Wenyi Ding, Angel Ayora, Casey Jarvis and Michael Hollick are some of the notable golfers teeing it up this week.

Jacques Kruyswijk comes in as the defending champion, although at the Muthaiga Golf Club. He held off John Parry by two strokes to win a season ago. Kruyswijk will be back to defend his title.

Darius van Driel (2024) and Jorge Campillo (2023) are both former winners of this event at Muthaiga Golf Club playing this week.

Justin Harding (2021) and Guido Migliozzi (2019) are also playing this week and won this event at this week’s host, the Karen Golf Course. 

The Course

The Karen Golf Course was designed by British Army officer Remy Martin and was opened in 1933. 

This was also the first course in all of Kenya to feature grass greens and annually ranks as one of the best golfing experiences in the entire country.

It was constructed on the former coffee-plantation of the Karen Blixen Estate, in which the course shares a name

The course is known for its lush and well-maintained greenery as it plays as a par-72 at just over 6,900 yards.

It is a mature course that features tree-lined fairways with strategically placed hazards, promising to offer a stern challenge for any shot on the course.

Water comes into play on holes 12, 14 and 18.

The course opens with a long 456-yard par-four that often plays against the wind.

From there, Hole 4 is another featured hole as it is described as a picturesque setting that demands accuracy. The green is guarded by water and offers a challenge to even the most skilled of golfers.

The finishing hole, Hole 18, is a challenging 552-yard dogleg left par-five. Water guards the left side of this hole. The green itself is elevated and heavily contoured, offering a grandstand finish, making it a memorable end to this event.

The Weather

As of the time of writing this, Thursday currently calls for a 25-percent chance of precipitation and Friday a 40-percent chance. Saturday is calling for afternoon thunderstorms at a 60-percent chance. Sunday is also calling for a 60-percent chance of thunderstorms. Also note, Tuesday is calling for an 80-percent chance of thunderstorms and Wednesday a 45-percent chance of thunderstorms. The course will likely play soft-and-wet this week. Temperatures are set for 81-degrees for both Thursday and Friday before settling to 79-degrees on Saturday and 77-degrees on Sunday. Winds are set at 11 miles-per-hour for each of Thursday, Friday and Saturday before settling to ten miles-per-hour on Sunday. 

Key Stats

• Stroked Gained: Tee to Green (SG: TTG)

• Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)

• Driving Accuracy Percentage

• Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: PUTT)

• Scrambling

• Sand Saves Percentage

Betting Card

Ewen Ferguson (+3100)

Ferguson played this event in 2021 at the Karen Country club where he missed the cut. However, he played this event at the Muthaiga Golf Club where he placed T8th in 2022, T47th in 2023 and T7th in 2024. He knows his way around this area and these types of golf courses. He placed 24th in his latest outing at the Qatar Masters. He missed the cut at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship, placed 33rd at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, 20th at the Dubai Invitational and tenth at the Nedbank Golf Challenge this season. He is currently 12th on Tour in SG: APP, 23rd in SG: TTG, 44th in GIR%, 60th in scrambling, 63rd in driving accuracy, 78th in SG: PUTT and 109th in sand saves percentage. 

Ban Bradbury (+3500)

Bradbury is currently tenth on Tour in GIR%, 11th in SG: TTG, 22nd in SG: APP, 57th in driving accuracy, 60th in sand saves percentage, 71st in SG: PUTT and 103rd in scrambling. Bradbury is fresh off a fifth place finish at the Qatar Masters. He also missed the cut at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship but placed 41st at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, 30th at the Dubai Invitational, 62nd at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and second at the Nedbank Golf Challenge this season. He’ll be making his tournament debut this week. 

Sebastian Soderberg (+6500)

Do I enjoy suffering? Must be if I’m placing a wager on Soderberg this week. I have not played him since the 2024 Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed where he blew a nine stroke lead on the final round. Let’s not bring up old memories and move forward! Soderberg is currently sixth on Tour in both scrambling and sand saves percentage, 26th in GIR%, 51st in SG: PUTT, 52nd in SG: TTG, 57th in SG: APP and 81st in driving accuracy. He placed T68th last year at this event and missed the cut in 2021 at the Karen Country Club. He placed fifth in his latest outing at the Qatar Masters. He also missed the cut at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship and Hero Dubai Desert Classic. 

Jason Scrivener (+9000)

Stats wise, Scrivener was my first click this week. He is currently second on Tour in SG: APP, 15th in both scrambling and GIR%, 20th in SG: TTG, 21st in driving accuracy and 74th in sand saves percentage. His problem? The putter. He is currently 123rd in SG: PUTT. We say this so much in this space, if he can just get a few putts to fall that he normally wouldn’t, he’ll be in contention. He placed 24th in his latest outing at the Qatar Masters, 16th at the Bapco Bahrain Championship, missed the cut at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, 46th at the Crown Australian Open and 41st at the BMW Australian PGA Championship. He’ll be making his tournament debut this week. 

Jonathan Broomhead (+15000)

A big number for a guy with some good stats and some good performances this season. Broomhead is currently sixth on Tour in sand saves percentage, 25th in GIR%, 31st in scrambling, 34th in SG: APP, 40th in SG: PUTT, 50th in driving accuracy and 56th in SG: TTG. He missed the cut in his latest outing at the Qatar Masters but prior to that placed 13th at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship, 52nd at the AfrAsia Mauritius Open, 23rd at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and 33rd at the BMW Australian PGA Championship. He’ll be making his tournament debut this week.

2025 Betting Card

• Adrien Saddier (+3300) - T7th

• Marcel Schneider (+5000) - T13th

• Martin Couvra (+7500) - T53rd

• Matthew Southgate (+9000) - MC

2024 Betting Card

• Rikuya Hoshino (+1200) - T64th

• Frederic LaCroix (+2200) - T50th

• Shubhankar Sharma (+5500) - MC

• Alexander Levy (+7500) - MC

• Thomas Aiken (+11000) - T23rd

2023 Betting Card

• Antoine Rozner (+1600) - MC

• Adrian Otaegui (+2200) - T30th

• Julien Brun (+3000) - T7th

• Connor Syme (+4500) - T55th

• Thomas Aiken (+20000) - T65th