VIRGINIA WATER, England — The Kenya Open will be followed by a new tournament in the East African country next month, the European Tour said Friday.
The Kenya Savannah Classic was added to the 2021 schedule for March 23-26 at Karen Country Club in Nairobi and will form a doubleheader with the Kenya Open, which is at the same venue from March 18-21.
“The addition of the Kenya Savannah Classic to our 2021 schedule offers vital playing opportunities for our members, while having two consecutive tournaments at Karen Country Club follows our strategy of playing in geographical clusters to reduce traveling as much as possible at the moment,” tour chief executive Keith Pelley said in a statement.
The $1.3 million event will be played under health protocols of the tour and the Kenyan government.
The Kenya Savannah Classic is the 16th new event created by the European Tour since its resumption last July following a three-month suspension amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Kenya Open became a full European Tour event in 2019 but was canceled last year because of the pandemic.
Guido Migliozzi of Italy won the 2019 Kenya Open by one shot. The event was first played in 1967 and became a European Challenge Tour event in 1991.