Rizwan Charania was the top Kenyan golfer at the second round of Uganda Open golf tournament at Lake Victoria Serena Golf Club in Uganda.
The Windsor Golf club golfer finished round two with five over 67; to take his total for the tournament to 2-under par 142. This saw him end the day tied in fourth place, four shots off the overnight leader.
Shrugging off a tough outing yesterday, that saw him end the day with a round of 75, he shot an impressive round today whose only dropped shots came at the par-4, third where he recorded a double-bogey.
But the rest of his scorecard was a thing of beauty.
He sunk four birdies on the first nine at the par-3, fourth; the par-4, sixth; the par-5, eighth and the par-4 ninth for a back-nine total of 34. On the back nine, he played bogey free, sinking birdies at the par-4, 12th; the par-4, 14th and the par-5, 17th for a back nine total of 33.
On is part, Mohit Mediratta finished tied in seventh place after returning a decent round of 69 to take his total for the tournament to 1-over par 145; leaving him the second-highest ranked Kenyan at the end of play today.
Just like Charania, Mohit recovered from a difficult first round, where he returned a round of 76, to drop only two shots across the day. On the first nine, he carded a total of 34 courtesy of birdies at the par-4, fifth; par-4, sixth and the par-5, eighth and a solo bogey at the par-4, ninth. On the back nine, he carded a total of 35 courtesy of birdies at the par-5, 13th and the par-4, 18th with the only dropped shot coming at the par-4, 16th.
Thika Golf Club’s Simon Ngige was the third-highest Kenyan after round two having played a decent round of level-par 72 to take his total for the event to 2-over par 146. His was a round of mixed fortunes.
On the first nine, he carded a total of 39 courtesy of bogeys at the par-4, first; par-4, fifth; par-3, seventh and the par-4, ninth and a lone birdie at the par-4, sixth. On the back nine, he had a better feel of the course, sinking birdies at the par-4, 14th; par-4, 16th; par-5, 17th and the par-4, 18th. He dropped a single shot on the back nine at the par-4, 10th for a total of 33.
The three were among 13 Kenyans who made the cut to play in the last two rounds of the tournament. Other Kenyans who made the cut include Edwin Mudanyi, Erick Ooko. Justus Madoya, the Johnnie-Walker-Sponsored duo of Greg Snow and Dismas Indiza, Kopan Timbe, Njuguna Ngugi, CJ Wangai, Sujan Shah and Matthew Wahome – who made his golf professional career at the Nyali leg of the 2019/2020 Safari Tour Golf Series.
The Cut was set at 8-over par, capturing the top 30 players and ties.
Meanwhile, Zambian Professional player, Madalitso Muthiya, finished round two of the tournament on top of the leaderboard with an overall score of 6-under par 138; three shots clear of his nearest challengers, Tongoona Charamba from Zimbambwe and Irvin Thato from South Africa, who both tied for second with 3-under par 141 scores.
The Safari Tour Golf Series, which is sponsored by both Magical Kenya and the Absa Group, is this year featuring as part of the Uganda Open Golf Championship for the first time