Kibugu leads Kenyan charge as Mostert, Catlin top at Magical Kenya Open

Junior Golfer Njoroge Kibugu follows his tee shot during the Magical Kenya Open 2023 Day One event at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club course on March 10, 2023. [Stafford Ondego, Standard] Mutahi Kibugu was the best placed Kenyan on three under par 68 on Day One of the 2023 Magical Kenya Open (MKO) golf championship at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi yesterday. At the same time, Dylan Mostert of South Africa and John Catlin of USA topped the overnight leaderboard going into the second day, today, where the players are facing the dreaded axe that will deny some the chance to dip their hands into the Sh252 million cookie jar. Battling in his home course, Mutahi, 22, collected two birdies in the front nine at the par-3 two and the par-5 fourth. Mutahi doubled his effort on the back nine, firing birdies on the par-5 10th, par-4 14th, par-3 16th and the par-4 17th. He had a bogey free front nine but dropped shots at the par-3 10th, par-4 12th and the par-4 15th which he bogeyed. Fans follow action during Day One of the Magical Kenya Open event at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club course on March 10, 2023. [Stafford Ondego, Standard] "I think the course was playing so well today, it was very accessible, I did well on the fairways where the back nine favored me," he told Standard Sports. "If you hit the greens right you were sure of the birdies, if you did it wrong you were assured of a couple of bogeys," he stated. Kibugu admitted the greens were quite fast on the down sections of the pristine Muthaiga course but were moderate on other zones. He is predicting the fairways will be a challenge in the coming days due to the dry, sunny Nairobi weather. He said he had quite a struggle in hole 15 where he missed the pin position by a whisker, which resulted in a catastrophic result. "This was a difficult stretch to tackle. I'm sad I got a careless bogey over there, but again the back nine of the course was a much easier side, it had two reachable par fives and short par fours where one could definitely turn a good score if they started the game on that side of the course," he explained. Ahead of the tournament, Kibugu had admitted about his intense rivalry with his younger brother Njoroge, 19, who was the best placed Kenyan in the European Tour event last season. He says their childhood rivalry is what prompted him to keep focus and qualify for the MKO this season after missing out last year. "I think my brother looks very confident to post good results in this one too, I'm so sure he is going to well, more special than in 2022, it will be nice to see what he shoots," Kibugu underscored. Dylan Moster from South Africa and his caddie lines a putt during the Magical Kenya Open Day One event at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club course on March 10, 2023. [Stafford Ondego, Standard] Ahead of the dreaded cutline today, Kibugu who tees off at 12.40pm, says he is going to stick to the same game plan that realised the good results yesterday. "I'm just going to do what I'm doing; playing to my best numbers, focusing on my strengths. I just feel I'm good to go," he said. His brother Njoroge, who ended the day on one over par 72 stated: "Today I admit that I struggled a lot on the greens, but I'm hopeful I'll get my groove on Friday."

Kibugu leads Kenyan charge as Mostert, Catlin top at Magical Kenya Open

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Stand With Bold Journalism.
Stand With The Standard.

Related Topics

Popular this week

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS

DIGGER JOBS

Digger Motors

Digger Real Estate

Kibugu leads Kenyan charge as Mostert, Catlin top at Magical Kenya Open

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Stand With Bold Journalism. Stand With The Standard.

Related Topics

Popular this week

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS

Stand With Bold Journalism.
Stand With The Standard.