Greg Snow in action at the Limuru Leg of the Safari Tour.

By DANIELLA APIYO

Muthaiga Golf Club’s Greg Snow returned an excellent score of 6-under par 66, the best for the second round, to take the lead of the Safari Tour leg at the Limuru Country Club on Monday.

Snow, who was the winner of the Vet Lab Leg of the Safari Tour, shot a bogey-free round, returning 8-pars on the first nine and a lone birdie on the par-4 9^th. On the back nine, he found his swing and hole an eagle on the Par-5 15^th, his second eagle on that hole so far, and a double eagle on the Par-4 17^th before closing the round with a birdie at the Par-5 18^th . Snow’s 6-under par score and his first round score of 5-under par, for a tournament total of 11-under 133 gross gives home a six stroke lead going into the third round. David Opati is second on 139 after a second round score of even par whilst Tony Omuli is third with a score of 141.

Speaking after the Round, Snow said he was pleased with his performance adding focus now shifts to the next two days in order to get the job done.

“Overall, it was a good round and I am pleased with the performance. My focus now shifts to the next two days to get the job done. The course is in great condition and I think this offers all of us an opportunity to improve on our scores,” he said.

Overnight leader Nelson Simwa from Vet Lab struggled with form to shoot 7-over Par 77 for the round to take his total for the two rounds to level Par.

Meanwhile, the Golf Park duo of David Opati and Tony Omuli shot level par each for a total of 5-under par 139 and 3-under par 141 respectively to end the round second and third respectively.

The top amateur in the competition, Kiambu Golf Club’s Michael Karanga, ended the round in fourth after shooting 2-over par 74 for a combined total of 2-under par 142 going into the final rounds. Other amateurs who made the cut include Edwin Mudanyi – 144, 15-year old Taimur Malik – 146, John Karichu – 148 and Mike Kisia – 152.

Commenting about the performance of the elite amateur players, KOGL Director Joe Wangai said it was encouraging to see the amateurs play well. “The purpose of the Safari Tour was not only to develop the Professional side of golf but also to develop our elite amateurs and our junior golfers,” he said. “The performance of all the amateurs at Limuru has been tremendous. The 15-year old junior golfer Taimur Malik gives us hope for the future.”

Malik is currently tied in 10^th place.

Other notable players for the round include Windsor Golf and Country Club’s Riz Charania who shot an impressive round to finish the day at 4-under par 68, to take his total for the two days to 1-over par 145.

A total of 25 golfers made the cut after the second round, among them five amateur golfers.

The third and fourth rounds of the Safari Tour leg at Limuru will conclude on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. A total of Sh1m will be shared by the professionals who have made the cut.

Vet Lab’s Nelson Simwa follows his tee shot during Round 1 of the Limuru Leg of the Safari Tour Golf Series.

By AMANDA DAMARIS

Vet Lab’s Nelson Simwa shot an excellent round on the first day of the third leg of the Safari Tour Golf series at the Limuru Country Club to emerge clubhouse leader with a 7-under par 65 score on Sunday. He shot a bogey-free first nine which he started off with a birdie on the Par-4 first before sinking more birdies on the Par-5 fourth and the Par-4 sixth for a first nine total of 33.

On the back nine, he started off with consecutive birdies on the Par-4 10^th and Par-4 11th before dropping a shot at the Par-4 13^th. An eagle at the Par-5 15^th and a birdie at the Par-4 17^th took his back nine total to 32.

Speaking after the Round, Simwa said that he was happy with his performance after Round One adding that there was still more work to be done in the remaining rounds.

“It was a good opening round today where I only dropped one shot. Overall, I am happy with my performance, but I remain aware of the work that needs to be done in the remaining rounds. I am confident that I can carry this form with me through the remaining three rounds,” he said.

Meanwhile, Muthaiga Golf Club’s, and the winner of the Vet Lab Leg of the Safari Tour, Greg Snow and Golf Park’s David Opati finished the round tied second after returning an impressive 5-under Par 67 score.

On the first nine, Snow picked birdies on the Par-4 second and the Par-5 third before bogeying the Par-3 fifth and the Par-3 seventh to return a first nine total of 36. It was on the back nine that he regained his rhythm with birdies on the Par-4 11^th, Par-5 15^th, Par-3 16^th, Par-4 17^th and the Par-5 18^th for a back nine total of 31.

On his part, Opati managed a bogey-free round starting with the first nine where he recorded a total of 33 after sinking birdies on the fourth, sixth and ninth holes. On the back nine, birdies on holes 11 and 15 took his total to 34.

The elite amateur duo of Vet lab’s Edwin Mudanyi and Kiambu’s Michael Karanga returned an impressive round to finish tied in fourth with a 4-under par 68 score to leave them buoyant going into Round Two.

The junior duo of Windsor’s Taimur Malik and Muthaiga’s Zubair Khan finished the round in a commendable T14 and 21 respectively after returning a respectable 1-over Par 73 and 4-over Par 76 scores.

Action continued on Monday for Round Two of the Limuru Country Club leg of the Safari Tour Golf Series with players teeing off at 11:00am.