Njoroge Kibugu tees off during the second round of the Absa Invitational, the fourth leg of the Sunshine Development Tour at the Nyali Golf & Country Club on Wednesday/HANDOUT
Kibugu set up an exciting final-round showdown on Thursday
in the fourth leg of the Sunshine Development Tour -East Africa Swing.
The Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club professional, who
began the day tied for 13th on level par, carded a composed 4-under par 67 on
the par-71 course to move to 4-under par overall, reaffirming his status as one
of the favourites on a course where he claimed victory last season.
Kibugu's impressive round featured seven birdies on the 1st,
3rd, 5th, 11th, 13th, 15th and 18th holes, with his only dropped shots coming
on the 4th, 14th and 17th.
A confident Kibugu said he was pleased with how he managed
his round and will remain focused heading into the decisive final day.
"I played solid golf today and gave myself plenty of
opportunities. I hit the ball really well early on and got off to a good start.
At some point, fatigue started to set in and I wasn't hitting the driver as
well off the tee, but overall, it was a solid round,” said Kibugi
Hot on his heels are Greg Snow of Muthaiga Golf Club and
Mohit Mediratta of Sigona Golf Club, who are tied for second place on 3-under
par overall, just one shot behind the leader.
Snow carded a solid 2-under par 69, highlighted by birdies
on the 5th, 7th and 10th, before producing a spectacular eagle on the par-five
11th. Despite a bogey on the 2nd and a costly double-bogey on the 9th
threatening to derail his charge, the experienced professional stayed composed
to remain firmly in contention.
Mediratta also remained in the hunt after signing for a
1-under par 70. He enjoyed a flying start with birdies on the 1st, 4th, 5th and
9th, making the turn atop the leaderboard. Although the back nine proved more
challenging, with birdies on the 11th and 16th offset by bogeys on the 10th
12th, 13th and 14th, he stayed within striking distance heading into the
final round.
A further five players share fourth place on 2-under par
overall, namely Rwanda's Celestin Nsanzuwera, Michael Karanga, Taimur Malik,
David Wakhu and first-round leader Eric Ooko, ensuring the title race remains
wide open.
Meanwhile, Samuel Njoroge produced the round of the day,
firing a superb 5-under par 66 to erase his opening-round deficit and climb to
ninth place on 1-under par overall.
His outstanding round featured birdies on the 1st, 5th, 7th,
11th, 12th and 17th, with his only blemish coming on the 4th hole.
After his impressive recovery, Njoroge said he was delighted
to bounce back after a difficult opening round.
Nigeria's Godwin Okoko also impressed, returning the
second-best round of the day with a 4-under par 67. His scorecard featured
birdies on the 1st, 5th, 9th, 12th and 14th, with his only dropped shot coming
on the 6th hole, lifting him back into contention ahead of the final day.
Okoko said consistency will be key if he is to challenge for
the title.
