OWGR: Part III of the Obscure Countries Top Ranked Golfers

Kenya

Even in one of the globe’s hottest countries, we find Snow.

World No. 1,409 Greg Snow is currently the pride of pro golf in Kenya.

The 29-year-old of English descent is ranked ahead of dozens of countrymen (No. 1,787 Simon Ngigi is next) despite never making more than six OWGR-counting starts in a year dating back to 2007.

Snow was nowhere to be found so far in 2020. He missed the cut in his last four starts of 2019 on the Sunshine Tour and five of six total. Snow did put on a good show in his home country where he tied for seventh at the KCB Karen Masters.

That earned him a career-best 2.38 OWGR points. A T-10 at The Barclays Kenya Open on the Challenge Tour in 2014 was his next best effort. If they put a major in Kenya someday, watch out.

Snow turned pro in 2010 and hails from Muthaiga Golf Club. Muthaiga’s website states that the club is “proudly called the Home of Golf by its elite membership.”

What a claim!

I won’t hold that against Mr. Snow. In fact, it seems like a pretty neat guy based on a player blog he’s got with the European Tour.

I recommend giving it a read. It goes into how youth golf in Kenya appears to on the rise, playing in high school and college with Abraham Ancer and how he’s bounced back and forth between pro golf and working in the corporate world.

That last bit is what I think of most during this global pandemic that’s affecting all sectors of the global economy. How many pro golfers scratching and clawing for a career are going to be resigned to just hang it up? It’s an expensive endeavor and requires sponsorships to give you a boost. Those will be hard to come by going forward.

A stable career may rightfully take precedent.

Hopefully, there’s a way for Snow and the thousands like him to continue to follow their dreams when the COVID-19 scare is behind us.

GOLF IN KENYA

It’s nowhere near on the level of South Africa, but Kenya is still one of the staples of golf in Africa. Like in most of these countries, the majority of golfers are comprised of British ex-pats or tourists.

On Golf Advisor, I counted 42 courses in Kenya, which geographically is just smaller than Texas and has a population of 47.6 million.

According to Business Daily Africa, most of these courses originated in the early 1900s by British district commissioners. After Kenya’s independence in 1963, golf and golf courses were eradicated as they were seen as colonial relics.

The Kenyon Golf Union was established in 1928.

The Kenya Open began in 1967 and was held annually until 2020 when its March date was canceled due to COVID-19.

It’s unfortunate timing for one of the nation’s longest-running and successful sporting events. The Kenya Open was a Challenge Tour event for decades until it got the bump up to the European Tour in 2019.

Business Daily Africa estimates there are 8,000 golfers in Kenya, 83% of which are men. Here’s to hoping the youth golf movement in Kenya Snow alludes to is more inclusive.