Samuel Njoroge makes cut in poor outing for Kenyans at Karen

Local Pro Samuel Njoroge Chege follows his tee-shot during the Magical Kenya Open Tournament at the Karen Country Club on March 19, 2021. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]

Railway Club golfer Samuel Njoroge stepped up his game to fire three under par 68 in round two to make the cut at the ongoing 2021 Magical Kenya Open at Karen Golf and Country Club in Nairobi yesterday as Finland’s Samooja Kalle topped the leaderboard.

The 26-year old landed on the money bracket with total two rounds of two under par 140.

“I was relaxed today. I knew the course so well, so I was able to rectify the mistakes I had in the opening round,” Njoroge told Standard Sports.

The player, who is the brother to the Kenyan team captain C.J Wangai, started off round two well with a birdie in the par-4 hole 1 and par-4 hole 9 at the front nine.

He had other four amazing birdies in the 11th, 12th,14th and 15th holes at the back nine which boosted his score.
He bogeyed in the 3rd, 8th and 13th holes. He also lost a ball in the seventh and 14th holes but managed to recover well.

“I really worked hard for this event, it’s been a long journey since turning pro last season. I had long hours of practise ahead of this championship.

“I put on more hours than I used to spend as an amateur and I’m happy my efforts have started bearing fruits,” he said.

Njoroge and Edwin Inana of Vet Lab are the two players who joined the paid ranks last year.
Inana, 27, also had great moments on the pitch, even though he missed a bit of the fairways which derailed his hopes of making it to the third round.

“The course was a bit windy but I did all my best to control my shots not to run long,” he said.

Local Golfer Simon Ngige during the Magical Kenya Open Tournament at the Karen Country Club on March 19, 2021. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]

By making the cut, Njoroge is already assured of Sh100,000 pledged to the Kenyan team by the Kenya Breweries Limited.

Kenya Vision 2030 also announced Sh50,000 prize for the local player who will proceed to the money bracket.

“We will also reward the highest finishing local player at the event with Sh250,000 while the second and third place finisher will get Sh200,000 and Sh150,000 respectively,” Kenneth Mwige, Vision 2030 Director General, told the players ahead of the contest.

Kenya Tourism Board will also be waiting with another bag of goodies as top local finisher will be granted an exotic vacation to feel their signature experience.

Reigning Safari Tour series champion Dismas Indiza failed to proceed to the third round despite recording a one under par 70 in day two for total two rounds of  four over par 176.

He rued the chances he missed in the opening day.

Promising Golf Park player Toni Omuli who had a one under par 70 on Thursday fell by the wayside after hitting a one over par 72 in round two to close the tournament on level par.

It was also the same  case for Erick Ooko (Golf Park) and Taimur Malik (Muthaiga) who led the local pack in the opening day only to finish on level par each after the second round.

Greg Snow of Muthaiga finished on total one over par while Simon Ngige of Thika Sports Club ended the day on two over par.

Day one overall leader Hebert Benjamin of France was eclipsed at the top by Kalle of Finland who raked in a five under par 66 for total two rounds of 11 under par 131. The projected cut was at two under.