The DP World Tour returns this week with the Kenya Open from Nairobi, where 156 runners will be going to post at Muthaiga Golf Club.
The Players Championship at Sawgrass will be hogging most of the spotlight on planet golf this week, but the Kenya Open at Muthaiga GC provides an intriguing sideshow.
What | Kenya Open |
Where | Muthaiga Golf Club, Nairobi, Kenya |
When | 04:10, Thursday, March 9th, 2023 |
Odds | Antoine Rozner 16/1, Adrian Otaegui 22/1, Robert MacIntyre 22/1, Adri Arnaus 22/1, Ashun Wu 28/1, Oliver Bekker 30/1, Julien Brun 30/1 |
There was no DP World Tour action last week, so some good players are hungry for competition, with Robert MacIntyre amongst the talent jetting to Africa looking to bank a $333,400 first prize.
MacIntyre is desperate to make the European Ryder Cup team this year and is attempting to catch the eye of skipper Luke Donald by teeing up regularly on the DP World Tour.
MacIntyre has shown great passion for his home circuit by teeing up exclusively on the DP World Tour this year.
The Scottish left-hander made a decent start to 2023 by finishing 20th in the Abu Dhabi Championship and 38th in the Dubai Desert Classic, but a missed cut in the Singapore Classic was a shock for his supporters. He has since followed up with 57th place in the Thailand Classic and 37th last time out in the Indian Open.
MacIntyre has a large fan base – Scottish golf fans are particularly keen on him – but he has flopped at some short odds in recent weeks. It seems his followers are starting to dissipate, as he has been drifting in the betting this week. Having been the favourite on the opening show, the 26-year-old Oban boy can be backed at 22/1 for Kenya Open glory.
Antoine Rozner has taken over at the head of the betting. The Frenchman won the Mauritius Open by five shots just before Christmas – his third DP World Tour title. His victories have come in Dubai, Qatar and Mauritius, and he is 16/1 to add a Kenyan success to that list.
In his last two tournaments, Rozner has finished sixth in the Singapore Classic and fifth in the Thailand Classic, so the 30-year-old is full of confidence. The only negative against Rozner's case is that he has humdrum Muthaiga form figures of MC-54-34.
Adrian Otaegui is also prominent in the outright betting at 22/1. The Spaniard won the Andalucia Masters in emphatic fashion in October – the latest of four DP World Tour titles. He was playing on the LIV Golf circuit, but is back on the DP World Tour for the time being. He is the highest-ranked player in this field – ranked 82nd in the world.
Standard each-way terms of a quarter the odds, the first five places are available for the Kenya Open, while there are also alternative options, including a fifth the odds for the first eight places in the Each Way Extra section.
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Muthaiga Golf Club, Nairobi, Kenya, is a 7,228-yard, par-71, with four par-fives, nine par-fours and five par-threes.
The Kenya Open has been around since 1967 and has been staged at Muthaiga 41 times. It was a Challenge Tour event at Muthaiga from 2009 through 2012, then again in 2017 and 2018, and last year Muthaiga hosted the Kenya Open as a DP World Tour event for the first time, China's Ashun Wu cruising to victory.
Wu and Lorenzo Gagli are the only course winners in this week's line-up. They are both accurate drivers and keeping your ball in play along this tight, fiddly, tree-lined layout is the key to success.
Aaron Rai, Robert Dinwiddie and Maarten Lafeber are other straight hitters who have lifted silverware at Muthaiga. Sunny and warm weather is forecast for all four days, with calm mornings expected to be followed by breezy afternoons.
Jayden Schaper
South African youngster Jayden Schaper is bursting with potential and 35/1 that he makes a DP World Tour breakthrough in his home continent has been a popular bet given he is full of form and confidence.
Marcus Kinhult
The 35/1 price for Marcus Kinhult has been catching the eye of many punters. The Swede has finished 12th and eighth in his two previous Muthaiga appearances and has been in solid form.
Ten of the 18 Challenge Tour events at Muthaiga were won by a British player – and Ewen Ferguson could be the latest Brit to succeed there. The 45/1 chance finished eighth in last year's Kenya Open at Muthaiga.
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