By OUR CORRESPONDENT
Great Rift Valley Golf Resort’s Jastas Madoya emerged as the day one leader at the third leg of the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing, held at the par-71 Nyali Golf & Country Club, after carding an impressive round of level-par 71 despite challenging weather conditions.
Play was briefly suspended at 8:45 AM due to heavy rainfall, with action resuming at 10:30 AM once the weather eased. The wet and windy conditions tested the patience and adaptability of the 70 players who teed off in the opening round, from eight African countries.
Madoya made his move early, playing a composed front nine with birdies on the 3rd and 5th holes, offset by a single bogey on the 4th. On the back nine, he dropped a shot on the 10th but quickly recovered with a birdie on 11. He followed that with another dropped shot on 12 and then steadied the round, picking up a birdie on 17 before closing with a bogey on the final hole to finish on even-par 71.
Speaking after his round, Madoya said: “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.”
Tied for second on 1-over-par 72 were David Wakhu of Golf Park and Greg Snow of Muthaiga Golf Club.
Wakhu carded birdies on the 1st, 5th, and 17th holes, but saw his round checked by bogeys on the 3rd, 7th, 11th, and 16th, with pars on the rest.
Snow had a promising front nine with birdies on the 1st, 5th, and 8th, but also dropped shots on the 4th, 7th, and 9th. He recovered well on the second nine, adding a birdie on the 11th, playing steady par golf apart from bogeys on 12 and 16, to close on 72.
Reflecting on his round, Snow said: “It’s 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.”
Occupying the fourth spot on 2-over-par 73 was the trio of Fadhil Said Nkya from Tanzania, Daniel Nduva of Nyali Golf & Country Club, and Samuel Njoroge of Kenya Railway.
A six-way tie for seventh saw Mohit Mediratta, Erick Ooko, Celestine Nsanzuwera of Rwanda, Kenneth Bollo, Alfred Nandwa, and Adel Balala all finish on 3-over-par 74, keeping the leaderboard tightly packed heading into round two.
The Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing continues tomorrow at Nyali Golf & Country Club, with round two set to determine who makes the cut to the top 30 and ties for the final round on Wednesday, with KES 2 million in prize money and Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points on offer.
