Zimbabwean pro Robson Chinhoi savoured a one-shot lead from Thika’s Simon Ngige at the halfway stage of the 2021/22 Safari Tour Season Four at Nyali Golf Club.
Chinhoi prayed for the heavens to open going into the last two rounds which will determine the winner of the Coast leg.
The Zim was in fine shape on Monday posting a 68 for the day.
“I started very well unlike in the opening round where I made a number of unnecessary bogeys and finished on 1 over par 71. I am hitting the ball pretty well now and I am wishing it could rain even more as it makes the course, particularly the greens, easy to handle,” said Chinhoi, who will be in the last flight of Ngige and senior pro Dismas Indiza during the third round on Tuesday.
A winner of the Vet Lab leg of the series, Chinhoi recovered from a bogey finish at the front nine to post a low three-under-par at the back following a birdie finish at the par-three‐18th, after picking up two early birdies at the 11th and 12th and later at the 16th for the day’s three-under-par 68 and a two rounds total of two under par140.
En-route to the home green, Chinhoi had dropped a shot at the 13th in addition to the front nine’s ninth hole.
Ngige shot level par 71 to sail through to the last two rounds with one-under-par 141 after a level-par 71.
“I need to work on my short game, especially chipping, which has not been very fine. I take off very well but my short game some 50 yards from the greens is denying me low scores, but I am going to work on it,” said Ngige, who birdied the fifth and 11th with only a double bogey coming at the 14th, which denied him a Day Three lead. Indiza, on the other hand, shot one-under-par 70 for a two rounds total of level par 142.
It was a fine outing for Uganda’s Deo Akope who missed the third leg at the Great Rift Valley Golf Resort. He played a bogey‐free three-under-par 68 that included three birdies coming on the back nine’s 11th, 13th and 17th.
“I messed up by picking bogeys in the first five holes during the opening round so I had to fight hard to recover some of the shots at the back nine to finish on four over par. But I am happy today, I had my focus on a good round right from the word go and thanks to my putting, I was able to play a clean first nine which really encouraged me to play well at the back nine,” said Akope.
Akope tied for fourth place with Zimbabwe’s Visitor Mapwanya who shot two-under-par 69 for one over par 141.
He bogeyed three holes though he managed to pick up two birdies in each nine.
“I have been enjoying playing here, though it's my first time. But I have prepared well as I came down early enough after playing badly at the Great Rift Valley. I am looking forward to my first win in the Safari Tour,” said Mapwanya.
A total of 22 players including top junior amateur Taimur Malik made the six-over-par cut, to proceed to the last two rounds.
They also include third-leg winner David Wakhu, Uganda’s Ronald Rugumayo who holed in one at the 157‐yards par-three‐15th hole.
However, a number of the leading pros in the tour such as Muthaiga’s Greg Snow, Mohit Mediratta from Sigona, Edwin Mudanyi of Vet Lab, Tafara Mpofu of Zimbabwe, Samuel Njoroge of Railway and home pro Mathew Wahome did not survive the second-round cut. The third round like the first two rounds gets underway from 8 am with the leaders teeing off from 9.10am.
