Adel Balala was the top Kenyan amateur golfer at the opening round of Africa Amateur Golf Championships at the par 72 Leopard Creek golf club in South Africa.
The Nyali based golfer fired a total of three over par 75 to finish round one in position T20 ahead of round two on Thursday in the four day tournament that will culminate on Saturday afternoon.
The reigning Ruiru Open champion is in tam Kenya alongside James kamenchu, Dennis Maara, Sammy Mulama, Elvis Muigua, Steve Orinda and junior player Mikael Kihara.
Balala, the two time Nyali Open champion started off with two birdies in holes 2 and 6, par five and four, before dropping four shots in 8th with the rest of pars in the opening nine with two over par 37.
He started off in the second nine with back to back bogeys in 10th, 11th and 12th recovered with a birdie in 13th double bogey in 14th, a par in 15th, before completing the day with back to back birdies in 16th, 17th and 18th for a total of three over 75.
Kamenju finished in position T39 with +8 80 alongside Maara with Mulama (Golf Park) at T47as well as Ebill Omollo (vet Lab) and Kiambu’s Elvis Muigua. Kihara was second last at T68 with Orinda tailing at 71.
In the tournament, Zimbabwean Matthew Bramford has taken an early lead with seven under par 65 followed by home players like Ivan Verster (66), Simon Du Ploy (69), Daniel Bennett (69), Jordan Burnand (69), Altini Van der (69), Jack Buchanan (71), Amilkar Bhana (71) and Christiaan Maas (71) for top ten positions.