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Rwandan golfer Celestin Nsazuwera makes DP World Tour history in 31-nation field in Kenya


By Mathieu Wood

Celestin Nsazuwera made history by becoming the first Rwandan to compete on the DP World Tour at the Magical Kenya Open presented by absa.


Celestin Nsazuwera –2262630253


A regular on the South Africa-based Big Easy Tour, World Number 1609 Nsazuwera secured his spot through his performances on the Sunshine Tour's development circuit.

In turn, his appearance this week at Karen Country Club sees Rwanda become the 117th country to feature on the DP World Tour since its inception in 1972.

Despite carding creditable back-to-back rounds of one-under-par 69, he finished two shots shy of making the cut.

Speaking to the DP World Tour after his second round on Friday, he said: "It was a quietly good week for me. I was swinging the club well throughout but my putts didn't drop.

"I liked the way I started \[his second round\] with two birdies through three holes, I was in a good position, but I had a quiet back nine.

"I was just off the fairways and missed some putts."

Asked how much he will take from the experience, he added: "I have been training hard to play with the best golfers in the world.

"I have learned a lot. I have to stay on the faireways, make more birdies and keep the ball in play so that I can make more cuts."



From East Africa to West Africa, Nigeria has representation this week with Francis Epe making his DP World Tour debut at 37 after qualifying by also winning on the Safari Tour last year.

There are 17 Kenyans competing in their national championship, which is making its seventh appearance since joining the Race to Dubai schedule in 2019.

The global nature of the DP World Tour is in full evidence, with players from 31 countries, across six continents, in the field.

While 31 might sound a big number, it’s by no means a record for representation on the DP World Tour with 42 countries at the 2013 Open Championship being the record.

When excluding Major Championships, World Golf Championships and the Rolex Series, the biggest number of countries in a field came at the Joburg Open in 2017.


Field by the numbers - 2026 Magical Kenya Open


Country

Number of players

Germany

5

South Africa

16

Scotland

8

Spain

12

England

14

Denmark

4

France

11

Italy

7

United Arab Emirates

1

Japan

1

United States

5

Rwanda

1

Nigeria

1

Kenya

17

Ireland

1

India

4

Sweden

10

Netherlands

2

Switzerland

1

China

2

Australia

6

Thailand

2

Portugal

2

Austria

3

Norway

1

Canada

1

Zimbabwe

1

Brazil

1

Argentina

1

Paraguay

1

Finland

1


Most countries represented in a DP World Tour event


Event

Year

Countries represented

The Open Championship

2013

42

The Open Championship

2008

39

Joburg Open

2017

37

The Open Championship

2006

36

The Open Championship

2010

36

Maybank Malaysian Open

2012

36

Russian Open

2015

36

AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open

2017

36