NAIROBI, Kenya, February 15- Spain’s Jordi Garcia Pinto fired seven birdies on the way to a five under par second round of 66 to take a two shot lead midway through the second day of the Barclays Kenya Open on Friday.
Greg Snow lead the Kenyan challenge on three under for the tournament after firing level par following his 68 on the opening day.
With Nicholas Rokoine disqualified on Thursday, Kopan Timbe who also at level par for the day, was the next local on the leader board on one over for the tournament.
At the summit, the Spaniard began the day three shots off the overnight lead held by HP Bacher at Karen Country Club but a flying start, with birdies at the second and third, proved a sign of things to come.
A bogey at the seventh hole meant he reached the turn in two under but back to back birdies at the 11th and 12th was followed by a superb up and down for birdie at the 15th and while he dropped a shot at the 16th, he bounced straight back with a gained shot at 17 to move out in front on seven under.
“I played really well today from the very start,” said Garcia Pinto. “After the early birdies I was very relaxed and just enjoyed the day.
“I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens, whereas yesterday I missed a lot of greens, so it was important to get those early birdies.
“I was very calm and relaxed. I like this course a lot. My coach Joan Anglada played here about 25 years ago when he played on The European Tour and he said the course was perfect for me. It’s tricky but I like it.”
David Law of Scotland was two shots further back in the clubhouse after adding a two under par second round 69 to his opening 68 to move to five under while José-Filipe Lima was a shot further back on four under for the tournament.
-European Tour website
