Home pros Greg Snow and Njoroge Kibugu fired scores of level par 71 on the opening day of the DP World Tour Magical Kenya Open to lead the charge for a 13-man Kenyan team.
Snow birdied two holes on the par 4 eighth and Par four 17 but dropped two shots on the fifth and Par 5 18th before parring the rest of the holes.
Njoroge on the other hand, launched a stunning fightback from 3 over to close the day on level par. Three birdies on holes 14, 15, and 18 saw the young Kenyan pro recover in the latter stages.
Depending on the cut on Friday, Snow and his stablemate Njoroge will be hoping to shoot lower scores to stay in the money bracket going into the weekend.
Njoroge was all smiles after his comeback. “I just got my head back in the game in the last few holes to get a strong finish. Missing the greens on the first nine distracted me quite a bit. The course is wonderful and I am hoping to keep the ball more on the fairways,” said Njoroge.
Snow and Njoroge have established themselves as of most promising golfers to emerge from Kenya, having first taken up the game aged six.
Affiliated with Muthaiga Golf Club, the venue for the 2024 Kenya Open, Snow is hoping to use his local knowledge to good effect in Friday's round which will separate the boys from the men.
It was a bad day in the office for Kenya professionals as Dismas Indiza and Justas Madoya carded three-over par 74.
Njoroge’s elder sibling Mutahi had to contend with a +5 for the day and will require a miracle to make the cut in Friday’s round. Samuel Njoroge also shot a +5 while Sigona’s Mohit Mediratta ended his day one campaign with a +6.
Kenyan amateurs Josephat Rono and Makokha played +9 and +10 respectively.
Meanwhile, Chanelle Wangari Mwangi is the top Kenyan player in Round Two of the inaugural Africa Amateur Women Invitational Golf Championships at the par 72 Leopard Creek Golf Club in South Africa.
Wangari was part of Team Kenya at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open early this month at the Vipingo Ridge in Kilifi County alongside Naomi Wafula, Mercy Nyanchama, Jacqueline Walter, and Kellie Gachaga.
She fired two over par 74 in the second round on Thursday to move to third position in the four-day tournament that teed off on Wednesday.
She is accompanied by Sarah Khanyereri, Naomi Wafula, Ashley Awuor, and Mercy Nyanchama.
After two days of serious tournament play, she has managed a total of six over par 150 behind leaders Kyra Van Kan (-1 143) and Gia Raad (+5 149) ahead of Friday’s third and penultimate round of the tournament.
