Ngugi leads pros as Nyali Open in day 3

Kenya Railway Golf Club professional Njuguna Ngugi on Saturday remained at the top on day two in the Sh300,000 pro contest of this year’s Nyali Open at Nyali Golf and Country Club, Mombasa.

He shot one under par 70 for a two-round total of three under par 139 to maintain his two-shot lead from local pro Abdul Sihag.

Ngugi’s front nine started off with a birdie at the par five-first hole, a dropped shot at the start of the back nine and a bogey four, but he quickly pulled one back at the par five-11th then dropped one more shot at the 13th before levelling back at the par five-17th.

“The rains did some magic to the course; it is playing well save for the wind, which is better than the heat anyway,’’ said Ngugi.

Sihag shot the day’s best round, a 69 that included five birdies and three bogeys for 141, while fellow local pro Kopan Timbe shot his second 71 for 142 in third place, having birdied the ninth and 15th then bogeyed a similar number of holes.

The Nyali Open is the grand finale of the amateur order of merit, or Golfer of the Year (Goty).

Only a dozen pros showed up for the event as they were included in the season-ender at the last minute.

Meanwhile, for the second day in a row, the amateurs started their second round from 11am and were still battling it out.

Leading them out for the second round of the 54-hole event, which also counts towards the World Amateur Golf Ranking, was local player Dickson Baraza, who shot two over par 73 in the first round to take a one-shot lead from Coast Open champion Mathew Wahome, also a Nyali player.

Baraza birdied three holes and dropped four shots in the first round. Five others had tied on four over par 75 — Muthaiga’s Anthony Irungu, Samuel Njoroge (Railway), Anthony Kinuthia (Karen), Timbe and Goty defending champion John Karichu (Railway). The third and final round is set for this morning.