By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Muthaiga Golf Club’s Greg Snow went up by one shot on day two of the Safari Tour Season Four, second leg at the long playing and tough par 72 Vet Lab Sports Club course on Monday where 24 players made the eight over par cut.

Snow who missed the first leg at Sigona last week because of shoulder injury, shot two under par 70 for a level par 144 having shot two over par 74 in the first round on Sunday. Just like the rest of the players, Snow said the course setting as tough.

He made an early birdie on the second hole, but bogeyed the 380‐yard par four which had the most difficult pin position where only a handful of players were able to make par leave alone birdies. Snow, however, made a good recovery by firing in three back to back birdies from the fifth to seventh to carry to the back nine a two under par score.

There he made one birdie at the 12th, and a single bogey at the 17th with seven pars giving him a level par back nine and a chance to now charge for the top prize of Sh230,000. On the other hand, round one leader Tafara Mpofu from Zimbabwe shot four over par 76 to drop to second place where he tied with compatriot Robson Chinhoi on one over par 145 for the two rounds.

The 24 year old Mpofu had a disastrous first nine where he dropped three shots in a row including the fourth, and only managed to recover one shot at just before the turn to the back nine which he started it with a bogey and closed it with a double bogey six at the par four‐18th.

Chinhoi on the other hand made a birdie on the notorious fourth after bogeying second and third, then birdied the sixth and seventh, but picked up a five at the par four‐seventh. “My game is basically good am happy with the way I am playing despite the course being long and with very difficult pin positions. I look forward for a better performance in the last two round” said Chinhoi who birdied the 14th and 15th but double‐bogeyed the 17th hole.

But Muthaiga’s 20 year old Mutahi Kibugu left Vet Lab the happiest after making his first pro cut in his second event after turning pro three weeks ago.

“I started badly just like in the first event at Sigona, but I am happy I was able to roll in a number of puts for one over par in the second round which made me make the cut. It’s difficult to adjust to the pro ranks but I am working on my mentally concentration and try and focus on my game more” said Kibugu who said he would to play in all the events then travel to Europe to gain more exposure.

A number of the leading pros however failed to go through to the remaining round and they will now have to start focusing on the third leg at the magnificent Great Rift Valley Golf Resort in Naivasha next week.

Those who missed cut include Samuel Njoroge and Alfred Nandwa of Railway, John Wangai of Sigona, Jastas Madoya from the Great Rift Valley, and home player Nelson Simwa as well as Uganda’s Deo Akope, Philip Kasozi and Abbey Bagalana.

The Leader Board after Day Two:

1. Greg Snow 144 (74, 70)

2. Robson Chinhoi (Zim) 145 (71, 74)

    Tafara Mpofu (Zim) 145 (69, 76)

4. Simon Ngige 146 (74, 72)

5. Mathew Omondi 147 (73, 74)

6. Mike Kisia 148 (74, 74)

7. Mohit Mediratta 149 (78, 71)

8. Eric Ooko 149 (79, 70)

 

By THE BUDDY

SuperSport viewers on DStv can look forward to seeing all the action from golf’s premier team event, the Ryder Cup, live from the Whistling Straights Golf Course in Haven, Wisconsin, from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 September 2021.

SuperSport is the ultimate destination for Golf fans, with an unparalleled selection of action from around the world.

This will be the 43^rd edition of the Ryder Cup, a golf tournament (match play format, each match worth one point) contested between teams of players from the United States and Europe, with the latter being the defending champions after triumphing 17½ to 10½ at the 2018 event in France. This year’s Ryder Cup should have taken place in 2020, but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The competition format will be as follows: Day 1 (Friday) – 4 foursome (alternate shot) matches and 4 fourball (better ball) matches; Day 2 (Saturday) – 4 foursome matches and 4 fourball matches; Day 3 (Sunday) – 12 singles matches.

On the first two days there are 4 foursome matches and 4 fourball matches with the home captain choosing which are played in the morning and which in the afternoon. With a total of 28 points available, 14½ points are required to win the Cup, and 14 points are required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches are played to a maximum of 18 holes.

The home US team is captained by Steve Stricker and features the likes of Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka. Notably, Stricker left Patrick Reed (the US’s top scoring player in the 2014 and 2016 Ryder Cups) out of his six ‘captain’s picks’ (half of the 12-man team is determined by ranking; the other half by picks).

“Kind of lost sleep over that one,” Stricker admitted. “He’s a tremendous competitor. He brings a lot to match-play golf. His record here at The Ryder Cup is pretty darned good. It was just the uncertainty of his health [Reed has a week-long hospital stay for bilateral pneumonia] and really the lack of play that led to our decision down the stretch.”

The Europe team is led by captain Padraig Harrington, which will feature Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm amongst others. The Irish skipper is looking forward to the challenge of defending the title on enemy soil.

“From when we restarted our qualification process in January, the last eight months have been very positive,” explained Harrington. “Everybody has been able to play and we have a good system in place that has allowed us to look at everyone and see how they’re doing. There is no question that we are in good shape and everyone associated with Team Europe cannot wait to get to Whistling Straits and get going. Especially me!”

The Whistling Straights Golf Course is a 7,790 yard par 72 which replicates the ancient seaside links courses of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

No rival can compete with SuperSport’s coverage. Our viewers on DStv can see all their favourite golf stars dominating courses across the world. Visit www.dstv.com to subscribe or upgrade, and join in on the excitement. And while you’re on the move, you can stream matches on the DStv App.

 

Ryder Cup broadcast details

All times CAT

 

Thursday 23 September

22:00: Opening Ceremony – LIVE on SuperSport Golf

 

Friday 24 September

14:00: Day 1 – LIVE on SuperSport Golf

 

Saturday 25 September

14:00: Day 2 – LIVE on SuperSport Golf

 

Sunday 26 September

18:00: Day 3 – LIVE on SuperSport Golf

 

Monday 27 September

00:00: Trophy Presentation – LIVE on SuperSport Golf