Kenyans make cut at Uganda Open as Akope takes the lead
David Odhiambo watches his tee shot from the 9th hole tee at a past tournament. The Kisumu-based golfer David Odhiambo grand finale title at the par 72 Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club course at the weekend. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |
What you need to know:
- Among the Kenyan golfers who moved to the final two rounds of the tournament at the par 71 Uganda Golf Club course Kitante are Nyanza based David Odhiambo who moved to second place after firing a 69 in the second round.
- Indiza, however, is still capable of striking back to the top depending on how he plays in today’s final round. Yesterday’s third round had to be suspended for three hours due to heavy rains in Kampala city.
- Then came the turn of David Githaiga for the third leg at Limuru Country Club where he posted 39 points despite a strong opposition from some of the club’s leading amateurs.
A total of 13 Kenyan professionals on Thursday made it to the last two rounds of this year’s Uganda Open even as Dismas Indiza lost the lead to local hero Deo Akope.
Among the Kenyan golfers who moved to the final two rounds of the tournament at the par 71 Uganda Golf Club course Kitante are Nyanza based David Odhiambo who moved to second place after firing a 69 in the second round.
Akope and his compatriot Dennis Anguyo also fired 69 at during the same round.
Odhiambo made birdies at the fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth and was heading to the top of the leaderboard until he double-bogeyed the notorious par four-12th, having only picked up one bogey at the front nine.
“I was cruising well though the double bogey at the tough par four-12th after a drive to the right cost me the second round lead,” said Odhiambo who made the second round cut with a total of two under par 140, just a shot adrift from Akope whose 69 gave him a narrow three under par 139 lead.
STRING OF BOGEYS
Anguyo tied with Odhiambo on 140 as day one leader Dismas Indiza hit a string of bogeys to close with four over par 75 and a two rounds total of level par 142 in fourth.
Indiza, however, is still capable of striking back to the top depending on how he plays in today’s final round. Yesterday’s third round had to be suspended for three hours due to heavy rains in Kampala city.
On the other hand, national team coach Anil Shah, Charan Thethy, Paul Thuo and Simon Ngige failed to go through the second round cut.
Meanwhile, a field of 150 golfers drawn from Nyanza and Western region will converge at the Lake-side Nyanza Golf Club Kisumu for the fourth leg of this year’s Safaricom Business Challenge and not Nakuru Golf Club as early reported in this paper.
The series started at Nyeri Golf Club in the Mount Kenya region where Mwangi Gathu beat a field of 96 players with an impressive score of 41 points to emerge the best qualifiers, beating players from Nyeri, Nanyuki and Nyahururu.
Thereafter, action moved to the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club course in Nairobi where Oshwal High school student Abhishek Pandit posted 39 points to beat a large field of 256 players.
Then came the turn of David Githaiga for the third leg at Limuru Country Club where he posted 39 points despite a strong opposition from some of the club’s leading amateurs.
Among the players drawn at the par 70 Nyanza course include the club’s top amateur Peter Owino who will face among others Jiten Pabari, Raju Bhayani, Joseph Atito, John Orioro, Noah Winja and Ben Dawa.
Going for the ladies top prize will include Rosemary Obara who won the KCB Golf Tour recently, Kisumu deputy governor Ruth Odinga and Ruth Kwasu.
In Thika over 200 players will be battling it out for a number of prizes in the Pan Africa Life Challenge while Royal Nairobi will host the country-wide Crown Paints four ball better ball series.
