Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club’s Njoroge Kibugu held onto the top of the leader board — this time on his own — after a perfect round of five-under-par 67.
This performance brought his total to 13-under-par 203 heading into the final round of the PGK Equator Tour grand finale at the par-72 Royal Nairobi Golf Club on Saturday.
Despite picking up a bogey at the home green — his second in two days — Kibugu performed well, having collected two birdies at the front nine and four at the back nine.
“The 18th hole has always been challenging for me, especially in this tournament. I hit my driver to the right and thought I had plenty of room for an approach shot, but I didn’t execute it well. I think it’s fatigue from playing a total of 10 rounds over the past week,” Kibugu said.
Kibugu, who will start the final round on Sunday clear five shots from his brother Mutahi Kibugu and Golf Park’s David Wakhu, said he will take a break to rest before travelling to South Africa following the conclusion of the Sunshine Development Tour tournament.
“I want to take a break and focus on what lies ahead,” said Kibugu, who was crowned the inaugural champion of the Sunshine Development Tour East Africa Swing on Wednesday. This came after he won a total of four tournaments.
Meanwhile, his brother picked up an awful seven at the 18th after hitting his approach shot out of bounds. Having dropped a shot at the 16th, he closed the day one under par (71) and eight under par (208) overall, having picked up six birdies earlier on.
“I just can’t believe how I hit the ball onto the practice green at the 18th. I thought I had a good chance of picking up at least a par,” said Mutahi, who will be playing with his brother in the final round.
Birdies, however, proved elusive for Golf Park player Wakhu, whose troubles began at the first hole where he picked up a bogey.
He dropped shots at the 7th, 14th, and 18th holes to finish at even-par 72 for the day and eight-under-par (208) for the tournament
“I have been playing good golf. However, I haven’t been able to sink any birdies, and the two bogeys on the front nine and the two on the back nine were my undoing,” said Wakhu after his round.
Meanwhile, Karen’s Edwin Mudanyi, who is likely to be in the company of Wakhu, picked up a total of six birdies, earning him a score of four under par (68) and bringing his aggregate to six under par (210).
Taimur Malik, the only surviving amateur in the tournament who is now attached to Limuru Country Club, shot one over par (73) to tie with Golf Park pro Erick Ooko on five under par (211).
The final round tees off on Sunday at 8am in the Sh1.4 million event, with the winner walking away with Sh201,000.
