Africa-Press – Kenya. John Wangai and Njoroge Kibugu on Monday took the lead heading into the final round of the Betika Masters at the VetLab Sports Club.
The Kenyan pros are tied for the lead on 7-under-par 137 heading into the final day of the seventh leg of the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing.
Wangai produced one of the standout rounds of the tournament, firing an impressive 6-under-par 66 to climb up the leaderboard.
Teeing off from the 10th, the Sigona Golf Club player picked up four straight birdies on the 12th, 13th,14th, and 15th holes, dropped a shot on the 16th, and added another birdie on the 18th.
On his return nine, Wangai kept his momentum going with back-to-back birdies on the 1st and 2nd holes, dropped a shot on the 3rd, but closed strongly with another birdie on the 6th to complete a round of 6-under par, the lowest score of the day.
Wangai said, “Today I hit the ball well off the tee, and my putting was very good. I started on the back nine, and on this course, holes 9 and 10 are very tight, but I held steady, then went on to hit four back-to-back birdies from hole number 12 and that gave me momentum.
He added, “I have been shooting rounds of under par before, but I have not been able to get it to the top to be able to win. When I saw I could shoot under par, I continued working hard, and this is a show that I could be coming for a win, and that is my target.”
Kibugu carded another solid round of 4-under par 68 to keep himself firmly in contention for what would be his record third Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing title.
Kibugu had a stellar front nine, carding a birdie on the 3rd and a brilliant eagle on the 7th to turn in an impressive 33. On the back nine, he maintained his composure, picking up birdies on the 12th and 15th to finish his day tied for the lead on 7-under par.
Njoroge said, “It was a tough day and I had to stay patient, dealing with a stomach upset, but I kept it together and I am happy with the way I kept it together. I was hitting a lot of greens, but I was being conservative to retain my energy.”
Just one shot behind the pair is Rwanda’s Celestin Nsanzuwera, who continued his impressive run, carding 4-under par 68 for a tournament total of 6-under par 138, just one shot off the lead.
His round featured birdies on the 1st, 6th, and 7th holes, offset by bogeys on the 3rd and 5th. On the turn, he found further success with birdies on the 10th, 14th, and 15th to keep himself well within reach of the leaders.
Veteran pro Dismas Indiza from Kakamega Sports Club sits in fourth place after a fine round of 5-under par 67, taking his total to 5-under par 139. Indiza’s round included birdies on the 4th, 7th, 10th, 14th, 15th, 16th, and 18th holes, with his only blemishes coming on the 11th and 12th.
Tied for fifth are David Wakhu of Golf Park and Greg Snow of Muthaiga Golf Club, both finishing the day at 3-under par 141.
Wakhu’s round featured birdies on the 1st, 9th, 13th, 15th, and 18th holes, with only two bogeys on the 7th and 10th for a 3-under par 69 finish.
Snow, who had started the day as the overnight leader, found the going tougher in round two. His front nine saw bogeys on the 2nd, 3rd, and 8th with a single birdie on the 5th. On the back nine, he recovered with birdies on the 11th and 12th, but further bogeys on the 14th and 16th saw him close on 1-over par 73, dropping him down to tied fifth.
Vipingo Ridge Golf Resort’s Naom Wafula was the only female golfer to make the cut, further continuing her impressive form on the tour since turning professional.
A total of 30 players have made the cut to play in Tuesday’s final round, where they will battle for the Betika Masters title and a share of the Sh2 million prize purse, of which the winner will take home a sumptuous Sh400,000.
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