Home player Mohit Mediratta fired an impressive round of 5 under par 67 to snatch the lead from Railways’ Samuel Njoroge during the third leg of Safari Tour at the Par 72 Sigona Golf Club on Monday.
Mediratta used his knowledge of the course to impress on the ‘Road to Magical Kenya Open’ series as he finished Round Two with five birdies and an eagle on the par 5 fourth to put himself in contention heading into Tuesday’s penultimate round. He hit a scintillating second eagle in two days to move to seven under.
After firing a 70 on day one, Mediratta – who became the first local to make the cut at the 2018 Kenya Open — birdied the last four holes in the back nine before his big finish catapulted him up the leaderboard.
He has a gross total of 137, a stroke ahead of Muthaiga's Greg Snow, who repeated a 69 to close his day’s proceedings on 6 under.
Day One leader Njoroge dropped four shots on holes 5, 11, 16 and 18 to dip to third. Series leader Dismas Indiza’s round of 2 under par 70 saw him tie for fourth with Simon Ngige, Mutahi Kibugu and Daniel Nduva.
Indiza promised better displays in the remaining two rounds.
“The first round wasn’t that good as I played 1 over par 73. Today’s round was all good as I managed a 2 under. The essence will be to hit the fairways a lot more and putt well to make good scores,” he said.
Uganda’s Abraham Ainamani (par) is the leading foreigner at joint eighth followed by compatriot Dave Kamulindwa on T14 (+1), Malawian Paul Chidale on T18 (+3) and Zimbabwean Vistor Mapwaya also on T18 (+3).
The ultimate champion will walk away with a substantial prize of Sh150,000, a share of the Sh1m prize purse.
Event director Patrick Obath said the significant prize fund “underscores the Safari Tour’s commitment to rewarding excellence and showcasing the best of African golf talent.”
The event has attracted a large field of over 60 golfers including elite amateurs Daniel Kiragu, Daniel Chelogoi, Fred Njoroge and Jeremiah Ngond’o.
The top eight local players on the Safari Tour rankings and two regional players will book tickets the prestigious Magical Kenya Open on February 22-25.
Indiza leads the series with 122 points, followed by Nduva on 99.
Safari Tour - Sigona Golf Club Round 1 Leaderboard
1. Mohit Mediratta 70, 67=137(-7)
2. Greg Snow 69,69=138 (-6)
3. Samuel Njoroge 68,72=140 (-4)
T4. Dismas Indiza 73,70=143 (-1)
T4. Daniel Nduva 69,74= 143(-1)
T4. Simon Ngige 71,72=143(-1)
T4. Mutahi Kibugu 70,73=143(-1)
T8. Abraham Ainamani 70,74=144 (Par)
T8. Rizwan Charania 73,71=144 (Par)
T8. Njoroge Kibugu 72,72=144 (Par)
T8. Tony Omuli 71,73=144 (Par)
T8. CJ Wangai 71,73=144 (Par)
