Lorenzo Gagli edged out Jens Fahrbring on on sudden death play-off to win the 50th edition of 2018 Barclays Kenya Open title on round four on Sunday played at par 71 Muthaiga Golf club.
The Italian international won the event that was celebrating its jubilee, finishing with eight under par 63 tying with Swedish international Fahrbring.
The sudden death play-off on third hole was enough for Fahrbring to lift the title and taking home ten million Kenyan shillings.
Gagli, who dropped only one shot in the closing round, had birdied four holes, two in the first nine and two at the back nine for three under par 68, for a total of 11 under par 273 while Fahrbring shot four under par 67 to also wind up the tournament on 11 under par, hence the play-off held at the par three, hole 13 where a Mercedes Benz worth Sh11 million was on offer for a hole-in-one.
In the first and second holes of the play-off, both players parred the hole. However, during the third hole, Gagli fired the centre of the green, while Fahrbring hit his shot to the water for a bogey, while Gagli parred to claim his first tour victory and a strong foundation for the subsequent events in the 2018
But what a bad round it was for 2016 champion Sebastian Soderberg from Sweden, who was hoping for a historic victory but finished with nine under par 275 to tie for sixth place with South Africa’s Oliver Bekker, who shot two under 69 ahead of
Riz Charania shot six over par 290 in 69th place and Mohit Mediratta also carded 74 for eight over par 292 in 71st position to win Sh124,000 plus another Sh100,000 bonus from the Kenya Open Golf Limited, for making the cut as Charania walked away with Sh 134,000 and the KOGL bonus.
The final leader board;
- Lorenzo Gagli(Ita) 68, 68, 69, 68= 273 *
- Jens Fahrbring(swe) 72, 70, 64, 67= 273
- Philip Mejow(Ger) 67, 72, 64, 71- 274
- Nico Geyger(Chi) 69, 68, 68, 69= 274
- Kalle Samooja(Fin) 71, 70, 65, 68= 274
- Sebastian Soderberg(Swe) 70, 65, 66, 74= 275
- Oliver Bekker(SA) 74, 69, 63, 69= 275
- Victor Riu(fra) 68, 70, 73, 65= 276
- Trevor Fisher(SA) 70, 71, 66, 69= 276
- Anton Karlsson(Swe) 67, 69, 72, 68= 276.