•The Muthaiga Golf Club professional achieved the feat despite a round of 2 over par 74 at the Limuru Country Club course yesterday
•The Safari Tour has traditionally served as a yardstick to ascertain regional qualifiers for the prestigious European Tour Kenya Open.
Image: FILE
Greg Snow has attributed his stellar performance at season-opening 2020/21 Safari Tour Series to precision and focus.
Snow staged a stunning fight-back from the 9th position to second on Day 2 and clung to the summit in the last two days.
He has now taken an early lead on the Safari Tour standings, which are being used as a yardstick to select players for the Kenya Open Golf Championship.
The Muthaiga Golf Club professional achieved the feat despite a round of 2 over par 74 at the Limuru Country Club course yesterday. In an interview, he said this was the beginning of better things to come.
“It’s a good start after a prolonged period of no action. I hope to maintain this form going into the European Tour Kenya Open early next year,” said Snow.
After four rounds of intense drama, Snow managed rounds of 74, 68, 73 and 74 for a gross total of 2over par 289. Samuel Njoroge, who recently joined the professional ranks, stunned everyone including himself when he wrapped up the four-day stableford competition in joint second with scores of 76, 68, 74, and 72 for 3 over par 290 gross. He shared second spot with Windsor’s pro Rizwan Charania.
“I played solid all week and felt great being competitive again after six months. I’ll be aiming to stay consistent this season and hopefully grab a couple of wins,” said Charania, who was all smile.
Former Kenya amateur Captain Robinson Owiti of Vet Lab has also impressed with his run this week. “Fourth overall isn’t that bad. The secret this week was that I came into the event after practicing intensively for this season,” he quipped. Owiti posted scores of 73, 70 73 and 75 for a total of 3 over par 291.
Things didn’t work out for Day One leaders Ganeev Giddie and David Wakhu who settled for joint fifth on the leader board.
Wakhu was left to rue 3 over on the last round after he posted score of 70 ,74 ,73 and 75 for 4 over par 292.
After a disappointing last day play, Wakhu said: “Today’s (yesterday) round was tough and stressful but I’m very certain it’s going to get better as we continue playing week in and out. I Just need to sort my putting .I did my stroking poorly this week. Many thanks to the Government of Kenya, Safari Tour and my good friends who supported me to play at the Limuru course.”
Following the cancellation of the 2020 Magical Kenya Open, organisers are starting a new season with qualifying scores.
In the new format, organisers Kenya Open Golf Limited confirmed they consider 10 percent of 2018/2019 scores, 20 percent of the 2019/2020 and 70 percent of 2020-2021 scores for the Kenya Open. Those who qualified last season still have some points going into the new season.
The Safari Tour has traditionally served as a yardstick to ascertain regional qualifiers for the prestigious European Tour Kenya Open. Besides qualification, pros will use the event to sharpen their skills well in time for the big stage next year.
The Kenya Open returned to the emblematic European Tour series for the umpteenth time this year but the event was pushed to 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.
The next round will be held at Royal Nairobi Golf Club from October 12-15. This will be followed by Vet Lab on October 17-21 and Sigona on October 24-28. KOGL will release a full calendar for the season.