David Wakhu crosses a bridge with his cardie at Karen Club today.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Fresh from winning the Kenya Open Golf Championship last week, South African Justin Harding seem to be headed for a double after he returned a third round score of five under par 66 for a combined round score of 17 under par 196 to go three shots clear of the crowded second place ahead of the final round of the inaugural Savannah Classic at Karen Club.

Starting the day on tied second at 12 under par, having shared the first round lead, Harding picked four birdies and dropped two shots in the front nine for 33 out and dropped one more shot in the back nine with four birdies for another 33 in an a combined score of 66 for the lead.

Harding had played an impressive 21 under par 263 last week to win the Magical Kenya Open for his second European Tour titles and needs just a round better in the final round today to clinch back-to-back titles of the European Tour at Karen.

Six golfers have shared second place at 14 under par 199 led by round two leader, South African Daniel Van Tonder, Scotland’s David Drysdale, five-time European Tour winner Darren Fichardt, England’s Marcus Armitage, 23-year old Kristoffer Reitan and Thailand’s Jazz Janewattanond. 

The only Kenyan golfer who made cut at the Savannah Classic, David Wakhu had a less impressive day on the course as he picked three bogeys and a double-bogey in the back nine to card three over par 74 and a combined round score of five under par having began the day at eight under par.

This leaves him needing a miracle to win the tournament.

Justin Harding is congratulated by his cardie today.

Meanwhile, Sports Cabinet Secretary, Amina Mohammed, said Kenya should continue hosting back-to-back European Tour golf events, spread across more venues across the country to give visiting players, and the world, a feel of the country’s diverse golf offering.

“What our request has been to the European Tour is not to make this a one-off: that we should continue having these back-to-back tournaments and hopefully we can even have three events and have them across the country so that we are not having all these tournaments here at Karen.  We have beautiful golf courses across the country and I think that it would be wonderful for people to experience them,” she said.

She added: “It’s the first time that you have two championships back-to-back. We feel extremely privileged, and I think it gives us that badge of honor], but it also allows Kenya to be seen as a sporting destination. As you know, we have hosted very many sporting events and so having this additional tournament being held here just confirms that we are actually a sporting giant on the continent.”

She said this on the sidelines of the third round of the inaugural Kenya Savannah Classic which is ongoing at the Karen Country Club. The event follows last week’s Magical Kenya Open that concluded on Sunday.

David Wakhu during today’s round at Karen Club.

By DANIELLA APIYO AND AMANDA DAMARIS

Golf Park’s David Wakhu played another impressive round of golf at the ongoing European Tour’s Savannah Classic today, returning a score of three under par 68 for a combined round total of eight under par 134 to make cut.

During the first round played on Tuesday, Wakhu had played a round of five under par 66 to close the day two shots off the day’s leaders.

With the projected cut set at four under par after two rounds, no other Kenyan managed to enter the money bracket. It will be a repeat of the Magical Kenya Open where Samuel Njoroge was the only Kenyan playing in the last two rounds. 

Teeing off at the par-four tenth, in round two Wakhu played for three consecutive birdies at the par-four tenth and par-five 11th and 12th. 

He bogeyed the par-four 13th and parred the next three holes before picking a fourth birdie at the par-four 17th. He dropped another shot in the final hole of his front nine for a 34 out.

On his back nine, Wakhu parred the first two holes, the par-four first and par-three second to maintain his two under par score. He, however picked bac-to-back bogeys at the par-four third and par-three fourth but recovered immediately for bac-to-back birdies at the fifth and sixth. He leveled the next two par-four holes and picked birdie at the par-four ninth for 34 out and three under par for the day.

“I started hot by bagging in three birdies in a row but unfortunately I three-putted at hole number 13. My tee shot landed in the middle of the fairway then I hit to the center of the green. It was a little bit long putt but I three-putted, missed a short put to miss making a par. I just knew I had a few shots to look up to because at the second round one has to work extra hard to make cut. From the first round score I knew I shouldn’t beat myself, just concentrate and see how my game goes and it went well,” said Wakhu.

He continued, “From playing at the Magical Kenya Open to the Classic, I have had some European Tour pros who kept on encouraging me to keep playing well and adjust my game just a little bit while keeping my cool and enjoying the game. It feels good to make cut, having missed last week’s cut after a poor first round.”