Greg Snow grabs lead at Kenya Open qualifiers

Home pro Greg Snow grabbed a two shot lead going into Thursday’s final round of the third Kenya Open qualifier at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club on Wednesday.

Starting the day in joint second, Snow produced a fine round of three under par 68 for a three round total of one over par 214.

He picked three birdies at the front nine’s fifth, seventh and ninth, started the back nine with a birdie at the par five-10th, and was headed for four under as he pared all the way to the 18th, where he dropped his only shot of the day.

He will be in the company of long hitting Dismas Indiza and Ganeev Giddie in Thursday’s last round. Indiza produced a bogey free four under par 67 with birdies at the fourth, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th to bring his total to three over 216, and with a good chance of winning the event.

“Teeing off from the blue tees which are usually used during the Kenya Open, plus the wind has made the course very long and challenging which is ok because after all, we want to get used to such tough conditions’’ said Indiza.

He is among the three Kenyan pros, who have already booked their names by virtue of having made the cut during last year’s Open.

Giddie on the other hand, posted one over par 72 for 219, just a shot better than leading amateur Edwin Mudanyi from Vet Lab, who fired one under par 70 to tie with Golf Park’s Jacob Okello on 220.

Mudanyi birdied the fourth and 17th against one bogey picked up at the 16th while Okello eagled the 10th, but dropped shots on the 11th and 12th for level par 71.

It was however an awful day for round two leader Rizwan Charania, who picked up a number of bogeys, which saw him close the day with a 12 over par 83 and out of the leader, and he will need a very low score to bring himself back to the leaderboard.

The fourth leg of the series being held to select 18 pros to join Indiza, Simon Ngige, Riz Chharania and South Africa-based Stefan Andersen in the Kenya Open, will take place at Royal Golf Club next week.

The third round leader board;

214 Greg Snow 72, 74, 68

216 Dismas Indiza 73, 76, 67

219 Ganeev Giddie 74, 73, 72

220 Edwin Mudanyi(A) 75, 75, 70

220 Jacob Okello 72, 77, 71

222 Alfred Nandwa 74, 76, 72

222 Nelson Simwa 74, 72, 76

223 Joseph Karanja 74, 75, 74

223 Nicholas Rokoine 76, 72, 75

224 Justus Madoya 72, 78, 74

224 Jeff Kubwa 75, 74, 75.