The ManicaPost
Ray Bande Senior Reporter
GIFTED former Hillside Golf Club player, Rob Chinoi — ranked third best in the country — is expecting to have a two months’ camp in East Africa ahead of the highly regarded Magical Kenya Open qualifiers.
With golf placed under less risky sporting codes, there is a possible quick return to action in most parts of the globe.
The Magical Kenya Open has therefore been scheduled for November 12 to 15 at the Karen Country Club.
Chinoi is now pursuing his flourishing career at Royal Golf Club in Harare.
The 29-year-old golfer is ranked third behind Harare golfers Bern Fillet Smith and Trinos Muradzikwa.
Just before the onset of the Covid-19 lockdown, Chinhoi was leading in the fight for the Magical Kenya Open on 169 points, with Ugandan Philip Kasozi and Nigerian Andrew Oche Odoh on 167 and 165.5 respectively.
The former Mutare Versatile Academy learner was playing on safari tour, the qualifiers for the Magical Kenya Open, which is under the European Tour.
The Covid-19 lockdown disturbed the tempo in Chinoi’s game.
However, he has not lost focus.
“I have not lost hope because of Covid-19. I’m hopeful that I will be there to do the job well. It was easy to get lost and lose all the confidence on my game because of the long lay-off brought by the lockdown. But I am happy that I have maintained the mental and physical stamina.
“I am working out on my game day by day to try and get back the feel and confidence I had before the lockdown. I know once I start playing competitive golf, my swing will get back to normal and even get much better.
“I am expecting to be back in East Africa at the end of August and camp there until I play The Kenya Open. This will all depend on the opening up of flights and relaxation of travel restrictions,” said Chinoi.
The soft spoken golfer said his preparations are progressing well.
“My preparations for The Magical Kenya Open are almost half way. I am happy with the ground covered under extremely difficult conditions that came with Covid-19, but the good thing is that I have not lost focus,” he said.
Chinoi made it clear in a recent interview that he believes it is only a matter of time before he plays in the world class European and Asian Tours.
In an article posted in a Kenyan publication on the prestigious Magical Kenya Open competition, Vincent Wang’ombe, the general manager of Kenya Open Golf Limited wrote: “With all the negative news in the world and at a time when we are in desperate need of good news, it was such a great relief to learn of the new dates for this year’s Magical Kenya Open presented by Absa Bank.
“The staging of the event is of course dependent on the prevailing situation with the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The new dates allocated to the Magical Kenya Open coincide with those of The Masters, which is one of the four majors of golf. This is not a problem for us since the initial date of March 12 to 15 was going to happen at the same time as The Players’ Championship, which is unofficially referred to as the fifth major,” reads the statement.
The Magical Kenya Tour is widely publicised.
“The Magical Kenya Open will be staged at the magnificent Karen Country Club and will be televised live all over the world through the European Tour broadcast partners.
“Televising of the events in the US starts after the close of our event here in Kenya and this gives viewers the opportunity to watch both events, should they choose to.
“Last year’s live broadcast of the Magical Kenya Open reached over 296 million households,” reads part of Wang’ombe’s article.
Non-Kenyans who qualified for the tournament are Chinhoi from Zimbabwe, Andrew Odoh from Nigeria and Kasozi from Uganda.
