IN BUSINESS: Michiel Bothma lines his putt during Saturday's round

By CORRESPONDENT

Third round leader Michiel Bothma will hope that familiarity breeds contentment on the final day of the Barclays Kenya Open, when he will play alongside his cousin Branden Grace and room-mate André Bossert.
South African Bothma opened up a two-shot lead over Johannesburg-born Bossert courtesy of a round of 69 which ended on a crowd-pleasing note with an eagle three on the 18th hole at Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi, Kenya. That moved Bothma to 11 under par, with Bossert – who captured the Barclays Kenya Open title 19 years ago – on nine under par courtesy of an eventful round of 70.
Grace and Tyrone Ferreira, close friends and compatriots, share fourth place on eight under par after both men posted best-of-the-day rounds of 66. Grace will have a distinct length advantage off the tee in the final grouping, but Bothma is hopeful his experience will give him the edge as both men go in search of a first Challenge Tour victory on a potentially enthralling final day of the €190,000 event.
Bothma said: “It’s going to be a lot of fun out there tomorrow. André and I have roomed together a lot in the past, so we’re good friends because we’re of a similar age. We’re part of the furniture out here on the Challenge Tour! And Branden’s my cousin, so we’ve played a lot of golf together, and it’ll really feel like a family affair out there tomorrow.
“We’ve been paired up a few times on the Challenge Tour and the Sunshine Tour, but never in the last group before. Branden’s been playing very well this season and I’ve struggled a little bit, but now it seems I’ve closed the gap, so it’ll be nice to have him behind me for a change. Although I’ll be a long way behind him off the tee – sometimes it makes me sick how far he hits it!
“I seem to be hitting it shorter and shorter, and he seems to be hitting it longer and longer. If he connects with one tomorrow, I’ll be a good 50 yards behind him. But he’s 16 years younger than me, so that’s maybe to be expected. And length is only really an advantage on three or four holes on this course, and on two of those holes you need to cut the corner. So it could go either way. All I can just keep it in play, plot my way round the course and hope that experience prevails over youth.”
Forty eight year old Bossert will be hoping the same, as he goes in search of setting a new Challenge Tour record of years between winning the same event. By his own admission Bossert struggled on the front nine, reaching the turn in 37, but rallied with four birdies after the turn to move within sight of a fourth Challenge Tour title.
He said: “My putter was very cold on the front nine, then it got hot after the turn – although I still managed to make two three-putts, which was a little bit frustrating. But I’m over it now, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. It’s probably been a while since I played in the final group, so I’m excited about it – especially as I’m playing with my good friend Michiel. We had a good tussle today and I actually came out on top on the back nine, so hopefully that’s the case again tomorrow.”
Grace is the man in form, having finished 21st, eighth and 13th in the three events which form part of The European Tour’s ‘South African Swing’ at the start of the season. The 22 year old also captured his maiden professional title last year at the Coca-Cola Championship hosted by Gary Player on his native Sunshine Tour, and will lean on that experience – as well as a putting tip he took from watching the television – as he goes in search of a second victory on African soil.
He said: “The five birdies were great, but the no bogeys were just a pleasing. I made a small change on the greens after watching Aaron Baddeley putt on TV the other night. I’ve been a bit cautious on these greens, and my putts have lacked conviction because I haven’t trusted the lines. Then when I watched Aaron’s approach the other night, he seemed to have no doubts or hesitation in his mind at all, so I gave it a go myself today and it luckily it worked out really well for me. Hopefully the putts keep dropping tomorrow.” air max damen air max damen

BAD DAY IN OFFICE: Former Kenya Open winner Ian Pyman gestrures during the second round at Muthaiga. He played 12 over and failed to make the cut.

By CORRESPONDENT
South African Michiel Bothma continued his impressive form with a round of 67 on the second day of the Barclays Kenya Open to open up a slender lead over the chasing pack.
Bothma, who has two top ten finishes to his name in five previous appearances at the €190,000 event, posted six birdies on another scorching day at Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi, Kenya, to move to nine under par.
The man from Pretoria, who bases himself in the west of England during the bulk of the summer months, currently leads by one stroke from Johannesburg-born André Bossert, who needed just 29 shots to cover the back nine, and Austrian Thomas Feyrsinger.
After five seasons on the Challenge Tour Bothma is still searching for his maiden victory, but the 38 year old is hopeful of breaking his drought on Sunday night.
He said: “The wind can make life quite tricky at times, because it keeps switching direction so you’re never quite sure which way it’s blowing. But I love the climate out here, and with the altitude the ball flight’s very similar to back home in South Africa, so I feel very much at home. Hopefully I can carry this feeling through to the weekend.”
The lowest score of the day was posted by Switzerland’s Bossert, who won the event at Muthaiga Golf Club in 1992.
Bossert blitzed his way through the back nine, courtesy of four birdies and an eagle two at the 15th hole, to set up the possibility of a repeat success 19 years later.
He said: “My win here was a long time ago now, but the place hasn’t changed too much in that time. They’ve made a few alterations to the course, lengthening a few of the holes, but the look and feel of the place is almost identical. So hopefully we can have an identical result come Sunday night.”
Feyrsinger is another player with impressive previous form in the event, having finished runner-up in 2008, and the Austrian will go into the weekend believing he can go one better after signing for a sublime round of 66 to join Bossert on eight under par.
He said: “I actually hit a poor chip on the tenth hole, which was my first, but it dropped in the hole, so that gave me the feeling that it might be my day. I hit it stone dead for two more birdies on my front nine, then after that I was off and running. I made a few more birdie chances after that but didn’t take them, but I told myself to stay patient and the chances will come, and fortunately for me that’s the way it worked out. That’s the key for me this week: staying patient and focused. If I can do those two things well, I’ll be very happy, whatever I score.”
England’s Paul Dwyer is currently in fourth place on seven under par after a flawless round of 66.
He said: “It was just really steady today, I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens. I wasn’t hitting it especially close, but when I did I managed to take my chances. I was probably more pleased with no bogeys, because I found trouble a couple of times but managed to save par with some good chips and putts. So that bodes well for the weekend.”
The local interest was maintained by Greg Snow and Nicholas Rokoine, who again showed their liking for their home track to finish alongside one another on five under par – the same mark as Italian Federico Colombo, South African Tyrone Mordt and England’s Sam Walker.
Snow, a talented 20 year old from Nairobi, outscored both of his playing partners, England’s Daniel Vancsik and Scotland’s Marc Warren, who between them have won four European Tour titles.
He said: “I’m absolutely delighted with the way I’ve played over the first two days. I came here with high expectations, as I knew I was playing well and I obviously know the course well. But you still have to go out there and do the business, so I couldn’t be happier with how it’s gone so far. It was a great experience for me to play with Marc and Daniel on the first two days, because they’re both great guys and great players.”
Rokoine drew an even larger crowd than Snow, and promptly rewarded the locals’ support with a gutsy display to comfortably make the cut for the first time in four appearances.
He said: “I’m very happy to have made the cut for the first time today. It was my aim at the start of the week, and now I’m excited about playing at the weekend. I was a little bit nervous at the start of the round, and made a bogey on my first hole. I was two over after nine holes, so I knew I needed a good back nine, and luckily I managed to do just that.
“The front nine here is probably tougher than the back, so I was very happy to come home in three under. It was great to have so many people following me – most of them are members of the club, so I want to thank them for their support. Hopefully they will come out again at the weekend. It’s great for Kenyan golf that me and Greg are up near the top of the leader board, and hopefully we can keep it going.” air max schwarz air max schwarz