Greg Snow takes round one lead at Safari Tour in Muthaiga

Playing on home course, Greg Snow has taken round one lead in the penultimate stage of Safari Tour Golf series on par 71 Muthaiga golf club ahead of Kenya Open Golf championships at Karen Country Club in March.

Snow fired an impressive 4-under par 67 to command the opening round to extend his superlative performance in the series after winning two and taking top prize in three, of the last four Safari Tour tournaments ahead of tomorrow’s second round.

The professional golfer dropped shots at the Par-3 second and the Par-5 fourth but recovered with a birdie on the Par-4 sixth for a total of 37 having held par on the rest of the holes.

It’s on the back nine that he really came alive to play bogey-free, picking up five birdies in the process. He started off with consecutive birdies at the Par-5 10^th, the Par-3 11^th and the par-4 12^th. He later picked up consecutive birdies on the Par-4 15^th and the Par-3 16^th for a total of 30 having levelled the other back nine holes.

Nyanza Golf Club’s David Odhiambo and Muthaiga Golf Club’s Nelson Mudanyi returned impressive scores to finish the round tied for second at 2-under par 69.

Mudanyi started his round with a bogey at the Par-4 first before hitting birdies at the Par-5 fourth and the Par-4 ninth for a first nine total of 35. On the back nine, he started off with a bogey at the Par-5 10^th before hitting birdies at the Par-3 13^th and the Par-4 17^th for a back nine total of 34.

On his part, Odhiambo played a blemish-free first nine, sinking a lone birdie at the Par-4 third to take his first nine total to 35 having held par on the rest. On the back nine, birdies at the Par-5 10^th, Par-4 14^th and the Par-5 18^th were enough to cancel out bogeys on the Par-4 15^th and the Par-3 16^th for a back nine total of 34.

Meanwhile, Windsor’s Rizwan Charania, Mumias Sugar’s Dismas Indiza and Ugandan Deo Akope returned level par 71 scores to tie for fourth; further underpinning the heightened competition at this leg of the Safari Tour golf series where total prize money has been tripled to Kshs 3 million shillings.

The amateur duo of Muthaiga’s Mutahi Kibugu and Windsor’s Akshay Chandaria were on decent form to return decent scores of 1-over par 72; to tie for seventh alongside Thika’s Simon Ngige and Limurur’s John Kagiri.

Round one leader-board

1. 67 Greg Snow- Muthaiga
2. 69 David Odhiambo- Nyanza
3. 69 Nelson Simwa- Muthaiga
4. 71 Rizwan Charania- Windsor
5. 71 Dismas Indiza- Mumias
6. 71 Deop Akope- Toro (Uganda)
7. 72 Mutahi Kibugu- Muthaiga
8. 72 Akshay Chandaria –Muthaiga
9. 72 Simon Ngige- Uganda
10. 72 John Kagiri- Thika Sports