Indiza, Okello lead after round one in Nyali leg
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 25 – Golf Park’s Jacob Okello, Railway’s Alfred Nandwa and Mumias Sugar’s Dismas Indiza returned scores of level par 71 to lead the field after Round One with Dennis Saikwa and amateur golfer Daniel Nduva tied in fourth place with a one-over par score of 72 in the opening Safari Tour leg in Nyali.
Okello started off the round with a triple-bogey at the par-5, first before making amends with birdies at the par-3, third and the par-5, fifth. He later dropped a shot at the par-4, ninth to card a total of 38 on the first nine having held par on the rest of the holes.
He played a blemish-free back nine, holing birdies at the par-5, 11th and the par-3, 15th for a total of 33 to finish the round at level par 71.
On his part, Nandwa dropped two shots on the first nine, at the par-3, third and the par-3 sixth, but holed a birdie at the par-5 fifth for a total of 36. On the back nine, birdies at the par-5, 11th, par-4, 13th and par-5 17th saw him card a total of 35 having dropped shots at the par-3 15th and the par-6 16th.
Indiza’s round started off to a flyer; playing blemish-free on the first nine and holing birdies at the par-5, first, the par-5, fourth and the par-4, eight for a front nine total of 32.
It is on the back nine that he struggled, dropping shots at the par-3, 10th and the par-4, 12th and the par-4, 16th and picking up a solo birdie at the par-5, 11th for a back nine total of 39.
Rookie Matthew Wahome made a good account of himself with a round of 73 in what is his first tournament as a golf professional. Rizwan Charania, Tony Omuli, Simon Ngige and Greg Snow finished with a three-over par score of 74.
Snow led the Safari Tour through the 2018/19 season whilst Ngige had a good outing at the 2019 Magical Kenya Open.
Joseph Karanja, Frank Matilo, Erik Ooko and David Wakhu finished with a score of 75, four shots off the lead. Wakhu was the winner of the Nyali leg of the 2018/19 Safari Tour season.
The elite amateurs invited to this leg of the Safari Tour did not fare well through the first round; Adel Balala finished seven over 78, Gathogo Kaguta returned a score of 80 and Karan Inamdar finished at 82. Andrew Wahome, 13-years, returned a commendable score of 84.
Lady pro golfer, Bhavi Shah had a tough day in the office with a score of 86; she will not be playing tomorrow having fallen foul of the 85 gross score rule that eliminates any player returning a score of 86 or worse. Muthaiga’s Nelson Mudanyi, who scored 86, has also been eliminated.
A total of 46 professional and elite amateur golfers participated in Round One, that field will now be reduced to 44 through the second round and it will be further reduced to the top 20 and ties after the second round.
Action resumes Monday in Round Two of the leg which will tee off at 10:00am.
Safari Tour Calendar 2019/20
Event 1 Nyali Golf and Country Club 24th – 28th August 2019
Event 2 Uganda Open (Lake Victoria Serena) 10th – 14th September 2019
Event 3 Royal Nairobi Golf Club 12th – 16th October 2019
Event 4 Entebbe Open (Entebbe Golf Club) 30th Oct – 2nd Nov 2019
Event 5 Rwanda Open (Kigali Golf Club) 6th – 9th November 2019
Event 6 Great Rift Valley Golf Club 23rd – 27th November 2019
Event 7 Muthaiga Golf Club 14th – 18th December 2019
Event 8 Thika Greens 4th – 8th January 2020
Event 9 Sigona Golf Club 25th – 29th January 2020
Event 10 Kitante Open (Uganda Golf Club) 12th – 15th February 2020
Event 11 Karen Country Club 22nd -26th February 2020
Event 12 Tanzania Open (Kiligolf) TBC
2019 Magical Kenya Open, Karen Country Club, 12th – 15th March 2020.
