Francis Epe qualifies for 2026 Magical Kenya Open

Nigeria’s professional golf prodigy, Francis Epe, has booked his place at the 2026 Magical Kenya Open, a flagship DP World Tour event scheduled for February 19–22 at the Karen Country Club in Nairobi, Kenya. Epe sealed qualification after emerging champion of the sixth CIO Golf Classic, staged in November 2025 at the Python Golf Club […]

Nigeria’s professional golf prodigy, Francis Epe, has booked his place at the 2026 Magical Kenya Open, a flagship DP World Tour event scheduled for February 19–22 at the Karen Country Club in Nairobi, Kenya.

Epe sealed qualification after emerging champion of the sixth CIO Golf Classic, staged in November 2025 at the Python Golf Club in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The championship attracted a strong field of over 100 professional golfers and featured a prize purse of $50,000, underlining its growing stature within the regional golf calendar.

The CIO Championship is uniquely positioned as the only West African tournament integrated into the Safari Tour mini-league qualification system. Through this pathway, top performers across selected Safari Tour–affiliated events accumulate ranking points, with the leading finishers earning one of two exemption tickets to the $2.7 million Magical Kenya Open—one of the few DP World Tour events hosted in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Magical Kenya Open remains a critical platform for African golfers to test themselves against elite international competition. The second exemption ticket from the Safari Tour pathway was secured by Rwandan professional Celestin Nsanzuwera.

Chief Ikenna Okafor, a keen golfer and Chief Executive Officer of Keeves Global Leasing, who has sponsored and funded the CIO Championship since its inception, described Epe’s feat as a watershed moment for Nigerian golf.

“This success marks a major milestone for Nigeria’s professional golf scene,” Okafor said.

“It demonstrates that it is both more accessible and more progressive for our players to earn tickets to international events through strong local tournaments. By building these pathways at home, we are nurturing talent, raising standards, and positioning Nigeria as a growing force in African and global golf.”

Okafor further disclosed plans to continue elevating the CIO Championship, including intentions to increase the prize purse in future editions to create expanded opportunities for Nigerian and regional professional golfers.

With a total prize fund of $2.7 million, the Magical Kenya Open continues to spotlight the best of African and international golf, attracting top players from across the continent and beyond.