Kenyans eighth on day one of Harare contest
What you need to know:
- The second round gets underway at 6.30am Wednesday.
IN HARARE, ZIMBABWE
Kenya’s boys’ team was down in eighth place on the opening day at the 2017 Africa Junior Golf Championship Tuesday, as defending champions South Africa fired their way to the top of the points table at Royal Harare Golf Club.
It was not a good start for Kenya who were playing on a course being prepared to host the Zimbabwe Open. It was only Agil Is-Haq who managed to pick up a number of birdies for four over par 76 while close to him was Zubar Khan of Muthaiga on 82, while his club mate Mutahi Kibugu contributed 84 for a total of 243.
South Africa’s Jayden Schapper and Luca Filippi shot two under par 70 each, while Christo Lamprecht and Garrick Higgo each posted one under par 71 for a team total of five under par 212.
This was seven shots better than hosts Zimbabwe who posted four under par 219, with Justin Kersten firing a brilliant round of 67 while Thompson Mutiya was on level par 72 and David Amm made one over par 73. The Reunion Islands were third on 228, a shot better than Morocco (229). Uganda’s David Kamalinda shot 69.
But Kenya’s captain Agi Is-Haq was still confident that his team would perform better in the next rounds.
“It’s just the first round where I think we just panicked, but we will try and improve our scores,” said Is-Haq who, along with Kibugu Mutahi, have represented the country in both the Victoria Cup and the East Africa Challenge Cup before.
In the girls’ section where only four countries are represented, South Africa was 15 shots ahead of Zimbabwe, having shot 144. Kenya was third on 170, with Kellie Gachaga having shot 78 after playing the back nine on level par. Zambia was a distant away in fourth on 196 gross.
The second round gets underway at 6.30am Wednesday.
