On-form Snow wins another leg of Safari Tour

As expected, Muthaiga Golf Club’s Greg Snow produced his usual final round fireworks, posting two under par 70 for an all rounds total of eight under par 280, to claim the ninth leg of the 2019/2020 Safari Tour title at the par 72 Sigona Golf Club course.

Playing along with Zimbabwe’s Chinhoi and Royal Nairobi’s Erick Ooko, Snow birdied the second hole, dropped two shots at the fourth and eighth, but eagled the ninth.

He started the back nine well, picking up a birdie at the par five-10th, dropped one at the 14th, but sealed off the day with a birdie at the 15th hole, to beat Chinhoi by four shots.

“It feels so great winning particularly after missing some slots in the Sunshine Tour’s Cape Town Open and Dimension Data Pro-Am which are now both Challenge Tour events," said Snow, who said he was now able to shoot under par rounds consistently. Snow wants to try and work on his driving before the next event.

“I want to try and work on my game generally as we approach the Kenya Open at Karen, to make sure that I am ready for it," added Snow, who thanked his sponsors Johnnie Walker for enabling him to play in all the Safari Tour events.

MOVED TO THE TOP

His victory, the fourth in the on-going series and seventh overall since the Tour started, saw him jump to the top of the Safari Tour ranking with 350 points, pushing Dismas Indiza into second place. He took home Sh150,000 while Chinhoi was awarded Sh100,000 for finishing second.

It was a double bogey seven on the par five-fourth which denied Chinhoi his maiden victory in the tour. “The course was playing well today and offered a great chance of scoring, though it’s the double bogey I picked at the fourth hole which kind of threw me off guard," said Chinhoi, who also shot two under par 70 for four under par total of 284, courtesy of four birdies.

His brilliant performance this week earned him the top place in the regional players ranking with 169 points. A top 10 finish in both the Kitante Open in Uganda and the final leg at Karen will certainly earn him a place in the Kenya Open.

Meanwhile, despite posting two over par 74 in the closing round, Ooko still managed to finish third with one over par 289. His round included four birdies but against four singles and one double bogey.

“Today was not a nice day for me, as I was not able to control my game, hence the many bogeys, but I will try and work on my game before the Kitante Open next month," said Ooko, who is currently fourth in the rankings.

The final leader board at Sigona:

Greg Snow 70, 72, 68, 70 = 280

Robson Chinhoi (Zim) 71, 72, 71, 70 = 284

Erick Ooko 72, 73, 70, 74= 289

Riz Charania 74, 73, 74, 71= 292

John Karichu 75, 73, 74, 71= 293

Simon Ngige 70, 74, 74, 75= 293

John Wangai 78, 71, 71, 74= 294

Sujan Shah 78, 70, 72, 74= 294

Tony Omuli 74, 77, 74, 71= 296

Mutahi Kibugu (A) 74, 75, 76, 71= 296