Charania sets lofty targets at European Tour events

After missing out on the money bracket at the 2019 Magical Kenya Open which was running as a European Tour event for the first time, Windsor Golf Club’s Rizwan Charania is looking to make amends in this year’s Open slated for March 18 to 21 at the Karen Country Club.

Charania is among four lucky local golfers who got a chance to play at the Open and subsequently the Savannah Classic which was introduced as part of European Tour’s plan of playing in geographical clusters to reduce traveling as much as possible at the moment.

Charania began his campaign for a ticket to the Open on a high, picking 46.5 points at the season-opening Limuru leg and a combined seventeen points at Royal and Sigona. He missed points in the other events but played four impressive rounds at the final leg at Karen to finish eighth at two over par 286 for 53 points that placed him eleventh on the Order of Merit.

“I am focusing on the areas that need a little bit of work ahead of the two European Tour events and that is mainly my shot game, chipping and putting. Initially, I was more focused on my academy and had little time to practice even during the Safari Tour series and that saw me miss a couple of the tournaments. I have, however, taken this time off for myself and I am sure my students will understand,” said Charania.

The 37-year old began the series with a 60.7-point advantage from the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons as they were counting for ten and 20 percent respectively to the final point tally while the 2020/21 season counted for 70 percent of the final points tally.

“I was worried that I would miss the chance to play in this year’s Open when the slots were eight as I had missed three of the first six events. It was fair that the organizers gave the guys who had qualified for the canceled 2020 Open a head start without denying others a chance to qualify. Although I left it late, I did the job at Karen. I have made two cuts at the Open in 2017 and 2018. This year I feel I am in a better place than I was two years ago when I made cut and my plan is to play well, make cut and see how things go from there,” Charania offered.

Asked what the most challenging holes will be for him at the Karen course, Charania says he has none and it will be all about managing his game. He, however, believes keeping the ball in play, as he expects the rough to be high, will be key for his game plan while maintaining good putting and chipping.