Category: Development Tour

Kigali Golf Resort & Villa’s Celestin Nsanzuwera, is the winner of the inaugural Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing Qualifying School (Q-School) tournament, played at the par 71 Great Rift Valley Golf Resort.
Celestin returned a round leading score of 2-under par, 69 to take his overall score after four rounds to 4-under par 280, four strokes ahead of the overnight leader, Royal Nairobi Golf Club’s John Lejirma who finished on gross score of par, 284. The trio of Dismas Indiza, Greg Snow and Samuel Njoroge, finished T3, with a score of 4-over par 288.
Celestin started the day trailing Lejirma by four shots, the two playing off the same flight, joined by Dismas Indiza. The leading duo started steadily off the first, with scores of par through the opening two holes. Celestin would drop his first shot at the third, his first of two in the round.
He would go on to birdie the par-4 fifth, to turn on a score of par, 35, with Lejirma having bogeyed three holes to relinquish the lead.
Celestin would turn on the after burners in the back 9, after bogeying the par-4 11th, immediately recovering on the 12th with a birdie, with further birdies at par-5 14th and par-4 16th, at this point he was tied with Lejirma at 3-under par. Lejirma would drop three shots in the closing two holes, bogeying the par-5 17th and double bogeying the par-4 18th, with Celestin holding par, to claim the win.
Speaking on his round Celestin said, “I am so excited for this win, as mentioned after round three, I was going to go for the win, I want to thank God, the players I played with, they were good players, but today was my day.”
“I started slowly, hacking the ball but kept my cool, after the bogey at 11th and birdie at the 12th, I started telling myself that it is possible and just kept my head down from there. Playing in the Q-School is a great opportunity for me, it will be my first time playing in South Africa and the chance to get a Sunshine Tour card is huge. I want to thank the organizers for this.”
Lejirma said, “It was a tough day out there, I think I was fatigued at some point, but that is the game of golf. It was frustrating, especially when the strongest part of my game, which is my putting did not stick today.”
“Getting the opportunity to test my game against the best has been a great experience and playing in the Sunshine tour is a dream come true. At the final Q-School tournament, I want to keep the momentum going and play well, showcase our talents and represent our country.”
On turning pro, Lejirma said, “I am thinking of turning professional very soon, especially with more opportunities to play, it is just a matter of time.”
“Finally, I want to thank the sponsors and organisers for putting this tournament together, on behalf of all the amateurs who received an invite.” He added.
Celestin Nsanzuwera takes home KES 180,220 as prize money with Lejirma taking home KES 108,130 as the trio of Indiza, Snow and Chege bagging KES 56,470, each.
There was a play off at the 18th hole to decide the last two players that will play in the final Sunshine Q-School tournament after Isaiah Otuke, Jastas Madoya and Mike Kisia finished T9. Mike Kisia would place his second shot 5 feet from the pin, with two putts to claim 9th place, home pro Jastas Madoya settled for 10th off a bogey, with Otuke double bogeying.
Speaking on his playoff win, Mike Kisia said, “I have been here before, I failed to make the Kenya Open after losing a play off, so I told myself, not again. I simply kept the ball in regulation and the rest fell into place.”
“I can’t describe this feeling, but I want to feel it every time I play, it will be my first time playing in South Africa and I look forward to it very much. I hope to improve my game as the competition there is high.”
The ten will now play at the Sunshine Tour Final Stage Qualifier, which is set for 8th to 11th April 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The entire field earned playing cards to the East Africa Swing events for the year, earning them valuable Sunshine Development Tour points and Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points on the East Africa Swing.

NAIROBI – Wednesday, March 26, 2025: IMG Kenya Limited, has signed a three-year exclusive deal with The Sunshine Tour of South Africa, to bring a brand new mixed, professional development golf tour to Kenya and East Africa.

The tour, dubbed The Sunshine Development Tour – East African Swing, will offer Kenyan and regional professional golfers and elite amateurs, both men and women, including Juniors, a chance to play regular competitive golf tournaments which will be organized in line with Sunshine Tour standards.

The East African Swing is part of a continent-wide development golf tour introduced by the Sunshine Tour which will have “swings” across Southern, East, West and North Africa. It is aimed at plugging the existing gap that leads to below par performances at top-level golfing events by local professionals and elite amateurs.

The tour, which will comprise a series of 10 events in a year, will deliver Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, which are crucial for player advancement, providing local professional golfers with a genuine merit-based “pathway” into global golf.

This will not only offer them an opportunity to hone and test their skills amongst other top pros in Africa and the world but also expose them to more lucrative opportunities from which they can earn a living.

In the first year, the East African Swing will offer between KES 1 million and KES 2.5 million prize money for each tournament, to ensure that pros can sustain their commitment.

At the same time, it will provide a growth pad for elite amateurs, women golfers, and juniors as part of its sustainability agenda aimed at developing and enhancing the quality of golf in Kenya and the East African region.

Ahead of the tour, IMG Kenya and the Sunshine Tour have organized a 4 round qualifying event (Q-School) at Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club, Nairobi, Kenya between Sunday 30^th March and Wednesday 2^nd April 2025.

The ‘Q-School’ is a mandatory pre-requisite for earning OWGR points on the East Africa Swing, and all players hoping to join the tour must register online at https://easwing.epass.co.ke. Players completing the 4-round qualifier event will be awarded tour cards for the 2025/26 season. There is prize money of KES 1M and the top 10 qualifiers win fully supported invitations to the official Sunshine Tour Final Stage Qualifier in Johannesburg, 8 – 11 April 2025.

A calendar of events for the 2025/26 season will be announced shortly.

IMG Kenya Managing Director, Charles Gacheru, said:

“We are very pleased to be partnering with The Sunshine Tour of South Africa to bring The Sunshine Development Tour – East African Swing to Kenya and the region. It is our conviction that this tour will offer golfers the much-needed platform to play consistent and competitive golf to an ever-increasing standard, whilst providing them with a steady revenue stream.

“Overall, our objective is to enhance the quality of professional golf in Kenya and the region, provide elite amateurs and juniors with a development pad, and elevate our profile as a golfing community on the global stage. We believe that, through this tour, our local and regional golf landscape will be transformed to produce globally acclaimed golf champions whilst providing a development pipeline for future talent.

“We look forward to joining hands with other like-minded partners to grow this event to make it bigger, more sustainable, and more impactful for the present and future of golf in Kenya and the region.”  

Commenting on the deal, Sunshine Tour Commissioner, Thomas Abt, said:

“The launch of the Sunshine Development Tour is a significant moment for golf in Africa as we are able to create unrivalled opportunities for professional golfers and the top amateurs in East Africa. We now have an effective vehicle to unearth the talent on the continent and bring new stars to the game.

“The Sunshine Tour and Sunshine Ladies Tour have effective global pathways in place that are perfectly suited to the development of talent in Africa.

“We look forward to launching the Sunshine Development Tour in what is a milestone moment for the game in Africa, and one in which we can play an important role in the growth of golf here.”