Mulama takes lead at Karen Challenge, Karanga moves second

Mombasa Golf Club’s Sammy Mulama jumped to the top of the leaderboard at the close of JTL Karen Challenge’s round two at the par 72 Karen Country Club as Kiambu’s Michael Karanga put himself in a challenging position going into Sunday’s final round.

Starting the day with a double-bogey at the par four-first, Mulama fired five birdies in the opening nine.

Two bogeys at the fourth and sixth at the back nine’s 11th ruined his chances of a low round and a wide margin despite adding two more birdies at the 12th and 13th for two under par 70 and a total of level par 144.

Karanga, meanwhile, shot three under par 69 for a two rounds total of one over par 145 to close the day in second place.

Karanga, the top amateur in the country, now has a real chance of winning the title on Sunday, depending on how Mulama reacts in the deciding round.

Karanga birdied the third and sixth, bogeyed the last two holes to level the opening nine, then birdied four holes and dropped a shot at the 16th.

Lady golfer Joyce Wanjiru, also from Kiambu, dropped to third place with a two rounds total of 148 after a 75 in the second round, a round which included four bogeys, a double bogey and three birdies.

A total of 55 players went through the 20 over par second round cut and will now battle it for the money list in the Jamii Telkom Limited-sponsored event. They include three other ladies, Naomi Wafula, Margaret Njoki and Ashley Awour.

Meanwhile, Vet Lab Sports Club’s Ebill Omollo and Josphat Rono of Golf Park tied for fourth place with six over par 150.

Juniors Shashwat Harish, Nathan Ngweno and Mitansh Thacker also made it to the final round.

It was a tough day for overnight leader Ali Mohammed after shooting 81 to tie with Naomi Wafula in ninth place on nine over par 153.