By DANIELLA APIYO

Only nineteen Kenyans will feature in the 2018 Barclays Kenya Open Golf Championship as the final three slots, to make it 22 local pros, were filled by foreigners at a Pre-Qualification tournament that was held at the Vet Lab Sports Club on Monday.

All Kenyan Professional golfer who took part, among them Nakuru’s Richard Ainley, Muthaiga’s Nelson Mudanyi, Kenneth Bollo and Anil Shah of Royal Nairobi and Sigona’s Sujan Shah missed out.

Frenchman Victor Riu, who braved the morning rain over the course of his first few holes, qualified automatically after posting a 6-under par score at the par-72 golf course.

Niclas Johansson from Sweden and Pedro Figueiredo from Portugal joined him for this year’s Kenya Open after emerging second and third respectively in a six-man play-off decider that was held over the first nine to determine the remaining two players who will take part at the tournament.

Other players involved in the play-off included Mateusz Gradecki, Samuel Robertshawe, Gary Hurley and Roussel Robin from France. The play-off was occasioned after three players, Johansson, Figueiredo and Poland’s Mateusz Gradecki finished T2 with a point score of 69. 

Johansson who had finished 3-under par during the Pre-Qualifier, holed a birdie on the 3^rd while Pedro scored level par on the 5^th to claim 3^rd position.

Gradecki emerged 1^st reserve after bogeying on the 5^th while Irishman Gary Hurley emerged 2^nd reserve with a birdie on the 2nd. Englishman Robertshawe ended the day 3^rd reserve having made par on the 2nd.

Reserve players replace any player who, having already qualified for the tournament, may pull out at the last minute.

Three-time Challenge Tour Champion, Alvaro Velasco, former European Tour Champion Oliver Wilson, and current Cape Town Open Champion, Rhys Enoch, also failed to qualify with each posting 80, 71 and 72 point scores respectively.

Speaking at the end of the event, Kenya Open Tournament Director, Patrick Obath, said competition witnessed on Monday points to the level and quality of golf expected during this year’s Kenya Open.

“The competition we witnessed today confirms the level and quality of golf we expect to see at this year’s Barclays Kenya Open and I believe that fans will have a great chance to watch high-quality golf that we believe will be different from the previous years’,” he said. pandora charms sale uk pandora charms sale uk

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