By OUR CORRESPONDENT
Round two of the NCBA Royal Classic is underway at Royal Nairobi Golf Club, with amateur golfer Adel Balala carrying a slender one-shot lead after an impressive opening round of 6-under par 66 on Sunday.
The Nyali Golf & Country Club amateur produced one of the standout performances of the opening day to emerge atop the leaderboard in the second leg of the 2026/27 Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing season.
Balala’s round was highlighted by a flawless opening nine that featured an eagle on the par-five third hole and a birdie on the seventh to make the turn on 3-under par. He continued his strong play on the back nine with birdies on the 10th, 12th, 15th, 16th and 18th holes. Despite dropping shots on the 11th and 14th, the coastal golfer maintained his composure to finish on 6-under par and take early control of the tournament.
Speaking after his round, Balala said:
“I’m very pleased with how I played today. I stayed patient throughout the round, gave myself chances and managed to take advantage of most of them. The eagle on the third gave me a lot of confidence early on, and from there I focused on staying disciplined and sticking to my game plan. It’s only the first round, so there’s still a lot of golf to be played, but it’s always nice to put yourself in a good position heading into the next two days.”
Just one shot behind the leader is a three-way tie for second comprising Muthaiga Golf Club professional Greg Snow, Nyali Golf & Country Club’s Daniel Nduva and Nelson Mudanyi, who all returned rounds of 5-under par 67.
Snow recovered impressively from an early bogey on the third hole, reeling off four consecutive birdies on the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth holes to climb into contention. He added further birdies on the 14th, 15th and 18th, with his only other blemish coming at the 3rd and 12th.
Reflecting on his performance, Snow said:
“It was a solid day overall. I didn’t get off to the perfect start, but I responded well and managed to build some momentum with a good stretch of birdies on the front nine. The course is in excellent condition and rewards good golf, so the key is to remain patient and take the opportunities when they come. I’m happy with where I am on the leaderboard, but the focus now is on staying consistent and giving myself a chance going into the final round.”
Nduva’s round featured birdies on the fifth, 10th, 15th and 18th holes, complemented by an eagle on the seventh, as he completed his round without dropping a shot.
Mudanyi, meanwhile, carded six birdies on the 1st, 2nd, 6th, 11th, 12th and 15th holes, with bogeys on the 8th and 13th proving the only blemishes on an otherwise impressive scorecard.
Kennedy Abuto occupies fifth place on 2-under par 70, while England’s Elliot Bradley and Uganda’s Abraham Ainamani are the highest-placed international players after both opened with rounds of 1-under par 71.
The NCBA Royal Classic has attracted a strong field of 96 golfers from 11 countries, including professionals, elite amateurs, ladies and junior golfers competing for Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) and Sunshine Development Tour Order of Merit points.
Following round two action on Monday, the top 30 players plus ties will proceed to play the final round on Tuesday where they will battle for the title and a share of the KES 2 million prize money on offer.
