Mediratta takes control of Safari Tour

Four back-to-back birdies at the last four holes of the back nine, saw home player Mohit Mediratta fire his way to the top of the leaderboard at the close of day two in the 2023/2024 Safari Tour third leg at the par 72 Sigona Golf Club course on Monday.

Picking up two bogeys in the first three holes of the front nine, Mediratta recovered with an eagle three at the par five-fourth hole and added a birdie at the eighth.

At the back nine, Mediratta parred from the 10th to 14th holes, then started his birdie collection from the 15th to the 18th to close with a low 32 and the day’s five under par 67, which gave him a two rounds total of seven under par 137.

He leads the field of 21 players, who made the three over par second round cut to Tuesday’s third round of the one million purse event, where the winner will take home Sh150,000.

“Its solid ball striking that enabled me to finish at the top, having missed only two greens in 36 holes so far," said Mediratta.

He said his biggest asset in the last two days has been decent putting, good wedge play, and being comfortable on the course.

“The course is in very good condition right now, though the rough is thick, but the greens are fine. My target in the remaining two rounds is to keep tidy and play shot by shot," added Mediratta, who finished a shot better than Muthaiga’s Greg Snow, who shot his second 69 for a two-round aggregate of six under par 138.

Snow played a clean front nine that included three birdies over the fourth, sixth, and eighth, despite dropping shots on the 13th and 16th, his two birdies at the 15th and 17th saw him leveling the back nine to put himself in a challenging position in the third round.

Round one leader Samuel Njoroge dropped to third after bogeying four holes, which left him on level par 72 for the day and a total of four under par 140.

Making an improvement for a four-way tie in fourth place was senior professional and 2023 Uganda Open champion Dismas Indiza, who fired two under par 70 for one under par total of 143, same as Simon Ngige of Thika Sports Club, Muthaiga’s Mutahi Kibugu, and Nyali’s Daniel Nduva, who shot two over par 74 in the second, having carded 69 in the opening day.

The third round is set for 8am with the leading group of Mediratta, Snow, and Njoroge to take off at 9am. Among the 21 players who made the cut include Zimbabwe’s Visitor Mapwanya, Malawi’s Paul Chidale, and Uganda’s Dave Kamulindwa and Abraham Ainamani.

November Monthly Mug

Meanwhile, at Nyali Golf and Country Club Mombasa, William Kaguta claimED the gross title during the November Monthly Mug and Ladies medal over the weekend.

Kaguta fired six over par 77 to clinch the gross title, as handicap nine Jimmy Kingori took the A division title with a score of 69 nett, winning well ahead of Pratik Patel and Omar Kaingu Lewa on 74 and 75 nett.

In the B division, Shah Rajiwon with 72 nett beat Ian Marshall by one shot, while in third place was Frank Herter  on 75 nett. The C division title went to David Ngunjiri with 72 netT, while Aameen Dhanji and Rish Shah finished in second and third places respectively with 73 and 75 nett. The D division was won by Max Mitterer on 69 nett after beating Jabess Oduor on countback. 

In the Ladies Medal, Florence Karimi took the first prize after posting 73 nett, three clear of Truphena Oyaro, while Joyce Masai was third on 77. In the B division, Rose Njogu carded 73 nett to win ahead of Petronilah Kalee on 74 and Hilda Mugure.

The C division title went to Nasihah Abdalla with a score of 77 nett, while Mary Kandu was the best putter with 27 putts. A total of 106 players participated in the mug which was postponed last year.