Kenya’s Jastas Madoya braved tough conditions at the Nyali Golf and Country Club to take the day one lead in the third leg of the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing, after carding a steady level-par 71.
The Great Rift Valley Golf Resort professional battled through a wet and windy opening round that saw play halted for nearly two hours due to heavy rains early in the morning.
Action was suspended at 8:45am, and only resumed at 10:30am after the downpour eased.
Despite the weather disruptions, Madoya kept his composure. He posted birdies on the 3rd and 5th holes, cancelling out a bogey on the 4th to turn at one under.
The back nine proved trickier, with bogeys on the 10th, 12th, and 18th, but birdies on the 11th and 17th helped him stay level.
The course played tough with the early rain, but I stuck to my routine and focused on shot-by-shot execution. I didn’t take unnecessary risks and just tried to keep the ball in play. Nyali is a tricky course, especially in the wind, so I’m happy with how I handled the conditions,” said Madoya.
Hot on his heels, tied for second on 1-over 72, are Golf Park’s David Wakhu and Greg Snow from Muthaiga Golf Club.
Wakhu rolled in birdies on the 1st, 5th, and 17th but was undone by four bogeys.
Snow, meanwhile, mixed five birdies with five bogeys in a round that tested his accuracy and patience.
“Nyali is a course that demands accuracy, and today’s conditions made that even more important. I had a few misreads, but overall, I managed the round quite well. Tomorrow is a new day, and I’ll try to go a few better,” said Snow.
A three-way tie for fourth on 2-over-par 73 featured Tanzania’s Fadhil Nkya, home favourite Daniel Nduva, and Kenya Railway’s Samuel Njoroge.
Six players are bunched at 3-over 74, including Kenya’s Mohit Mediratta, Erick Ooko, Kenneth Bollo, Alfred Nandwa, and Adel Balala, along with Rwanda’s Celestine Nsanzuwera, keeping the leaderboard tightly contested.
The 54-hole event continues on Tuesday, with the second round expected to decide the top 30 and ties who will proceed to the final round on Wednesday.
Up for grabs is a KES 2 million prize purse and valuable Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.