The Sunshine Tour, one of the world’s premier golf tours, is expanding into Kenya and East Africa with the launch of the Sunshine Development Tour.
Based in South Africa, the Sunshine Tour has signed a three-year exclusive agreement with leading sports marketing agency IMG Kenya Limited to introduce and operate this new mixed professional development golf tour across Kenya and East Africa.
The Sunshine Development Tour – East African Swing will provide professional golfers and elite amateurs, both men and women, with opportunities to compete in regular tournaments held to Sunshine Tour standards.
IMG Kenya CEO, Peter Gacheru, expressed excitement about the Tour’s potential to transform professional and elite amateur golf in the region.
“Our goal is to elevate the quality of professional golf in Kenya and East Africa, provide a development platform for elite amateurs and juniors, and boost our profile as a golfing community on the global stage,” Gacheru said.
The Tour will feature 10 to 15 events annually, offering Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points essential for player progression.
These points are pivotal not only for advancing in the sport but also for qualifying for the Olympic Games.
Sunshine Tour Commissioner, Thomas Abt, called the launch of the Sunshine Development Tour a significant milestone for African golf. He highlighted the tour’s potential to create unparalleled opportunities for professional golfers and top amateurs in East Africa.
To kick off the tour, IMG Kenya and the Sunshine Tour have scheduled a qualifying event (Q-School) from March 30th to April 2nd, 2025, at the Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club. The four-day tournament will offer a prize pool of Sh1 million.
Players who complete the qualifier will earn tour cards for the 2025/26 season, with the top 10 qualifiers receiving invitations to the Sunshine Tour Final Stage Qualifier in Johannesburg, set for April 8th-11th, 2025.
