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All set for Sunshine Development Tour East Africa Swing
Rwanda's Celestin Nsanzuwera lifs the title after winning the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing Qualifying School (Q-School) tournament at the Great Rift Valley Golf Resort in Naivasha on April 3, 2025.
What you need to know:
- These events will also offer players the chance to earn valuable Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points — a first for those who participated in the Qualifying School event held in April at the Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort.
- Each event is expected to attract a mixed field of over 80 golfers from across East Africa, along with 15 invited players from South Africa's Big Easy Tour. A cut will be made after 36 holes in each event to determine the final round field.
The inaugural Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing is all set to begin with back-to-back events at Thika Greens Golf Resort from June 3 to 6 and Ruiru Sports Club from June 9 to 11.
The two opening mixed events are expected to bring together professional golfers and elite amateurs from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi, who will battle it out over 54 holes per event.
At stake in each tournament is a prize fund of Sh2 million, likely the biggest payout in professional events in the region since the collapse of the Safari Tour.
These events will also offer players the chance to earn valuable Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points — a first for those who participated in the Qualifying School event held in April at the Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort.
Each event is expected to attract a mixed field of over 80 golfers from across East Africa, along with 15 invited players from South Africa's Big Easy Tour. A cut will be made after 36 holes in each event to determine the final round field.
The Thika Greens and Ruiru events serve as the season openers for the 2025/2026 Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing, which is scheduled to include 15 events across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda. The season is set to conclude in February 2026.
Commenting on the back-to-back season launch, tour promoter Charles Gacheru said:
“We are pleased to announce the start of the 2025/2026 season of the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing with back-to-back events at Thika Greens and Ruiru this coming month.
It will be the first opportunity for the players who participated in the Qualifying School, as well as guest players whom we will consider on a case-by-case basis, to earn Official World Golf Ranking points, earn prize money, and to get some valuable experience whilst honing their skills. We look forward to a great three days of golf from the elite field.
We are looking to host around fifteen events across the region, and between now and the grand finale in February 2026, we will be unveiling the entire calendar once conversations with our partners are concluded.”
The Sunshine Tour, one of the premier professional golf tours globally, officially expanded into Kenya and the East African region with the launch of the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing in March.
The series is designed to provide a pathway for professional golfers and elite amateurs to compete in regular, high-caliber tournaments aligned with Sunshine Tour standards.
This follows the Qualifying School event held from March 31 to April 3 at the Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort in Naivasha, where Rwandese golfer Celestin Nsanzuwera emerged as the winner of the Sh1 million prize purse.
The top 10 players from that event earned coveted slots to compete in the Sunshine Tour Final Stage Qualifier, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from April 8 to 11, where Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club’s Njoroge Kibugu was Kenya’s best finisher, tying for 40th place after making the cut for the final round.
All Q-School participants received playing cards for the East Africa Swing events, which not only offer Sunshine Development Tour points but also OWGR points, providing regional players with greater opportunities to climb the global golfing ranks.