Wu Ashun cannot wait to begin his Magical Kenya Open title defence as the DP World Tour returns to Muthaiga Golf Club.
The 37-year-old extended his record as the Tour’s most successful golfer from China as he overturned a four-stroke deficit in last year’s final round to secure his fourth DP World Tour title.
Related: Marcel Siem gives career one more boost with Hero Indian Open
Wu has made a strong start to the 2023 Race to Dubai, making six cuts from seven starts, with his best result coming on African soil at the Investec South African Open, finishing in a share of ninth.
Joining Wu in the field is the DP World Tour’s most recent winner Marcel Siem, who returned to the winner’s circle after an eight-year absence as he triumphed at the Hero Indian Open a fortnight ago.
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Also teeing it up this week is Ryder Cup Vice captain Edoardo Molinari, who won the Kenya Open in 2007 when the event was played on the European Challenge Tour.
Amateur golfer Njoroge Kibugu makes his return to the DP World Tour this week, one year on from making the cut in his national open. The 19-year-old is one of 14 Kenyan golfers in the field and is also joined by his older brother Mutahi, who is making his DP World Tour debut.
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Said Wu: “I’m very happy to come back to play the tournament here. I’m looking forward to playing the same as last year. The course is fantastic and the people are nice, the weather is good too. Hopefully we’ll have a good week.
“We played very good last year. The whole year we were pretty solid and this year we have started strong too. My game is good. I have many experiences with this golf course.
“The course is firmer and it’s windy too. Tee shots are the most important here, if you can hit it on the fairway you have a good chance to make birdie, but if you miss you can easily find trouble.”
Marcel Siem said: “I haven’t hit a golf ball on Tour yet, but I practiced last week in Mauritius. I was walking a few holes, wanted to get the kids out on the course and see how it is. I’m still in la-la land, everyone is congratulating me, it’s awesome getting the shoulder claps. It’s awesome, it was a life-changing week.
“But it’s now important to concentrate again, I don’t want to make the mistakes I made in the past. I want to prove I can be a multiple winner on Tour again, I want to show that I’m focused and have a good week. This week means a lot to me.”
