Kenya’s Naomi Wafula follows her tee shot during round two action of the 2023 Magical Kenya Ladies Open

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Naomi Wafula has become the first Kenyan to ever make the cut at a Ladies European Tour event after returning a score of 3-over par, 76, in Round Two of the 2023 Magical Kenya Ladies Open. Her second day results take her gross score to 9-over par, 155, earning her a commendable slot to play through the weekend for a stake of the 300,000 Euros prize fund.

This is the third appearance for Naomi, Kenya’s top female amateur and Vipingo Ridge’s PGA Academy star student, at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open having failed to make the cut in 2019 and 2022.

Naomi, who finished her round at around lunchtime today, had to endure an agonising wait as the cut line oscillated between +8 and +10, before finally settling at +9, as the round drew to a close.

Speaking after her round, Naomi said;

“I played much better today than I did yesterday, playing with the current leader Aditi really helped and I enjoyed the experience.

“I was hitting the ball much further today, it was great to see as I have been working at this skill since I came to train here at Vipingo Ridge.”

Round one leader Aditi Ashok maintained her rich vein of form as she returned a 3-under par score, 70, to take her total to 9-under par, to take a 5-stroke lead into the third round.

Speaking after her round, Aditi said;

“I wasn’t hitting the ball as well as I did yesterday, so I wasn’t getting those close putts for birdie. It was however good that I could get around with only one bogey today.

“I’ll try to get back to yesterday’s momentum going into the weekend, hitting it closer to the pin and getting more short birdie putts.

Sweden’s Elin Arvidsson returned the best score of the round, 6-under par, 67, courtesy of 8 birdies, six on the front nine at holes number 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 9.

A total of 63 players made the cut and will now play through the weekend for a stake of the 300,000 Euros prize fund. Among them is two-time Magical Kenya Ladies Open winner Esther Henseleit, who is currently T7, eight strokes behind the leader, April Angurasaranee (2), Martha Sanz Barrio (3) and Alice Hewson (T4).

Kenya’s Chanelle Wangari, who was also set to make the cut, saw her hopes drowned out on the par-5 7^th, after hitting a tee shot into a nearby swimming pool. She went on to record a 4-over score, and eventually finish on a 12-over par score after two rounds.

The other three Kenyans, Mercy Nyanchama, Jacqueline Walter, and Nancy Wairimu, finished with scores of +20,+21, +22 to finish in 94^th, 95^th and 96^th respectively.

Round three action tees off at 9:45 AM, with Laura Fuenfstueck of Germany and Lucie Malchirand of France getting us underway, Naomi Wafula will start her round with the second group at 9:56 AM.

Spectators can purchase tickets to the exciting final days of the tournament through the online platform www.ticketsasa.com.