This archive report was first published on 15 October 2019.
On the third leg of the 2019/20 Safari Tour Golf Series, Royal Nairobi Golf Club's Erick Ooko rediscovered his fine form, carding a round leading score of 3-under par 69.
He tied with Thika Golf Club's Simon Ngige, who shot a round of 2 over par. Ooko's recovery was impressive, as he made the most of the overnight leader's slip up.
Starting strong, Ooko hit two birdies in the opening five holes and held par through the rest of the front nine. However, he bogeyed the par-3 sixth hole, but quickly recovered with a birdie on the 7th hole.
His conservative approach in the second nine paid off, as he hit two birdies – at the par-5,15th and par-4,18th – while holding par through the rest of the holes.
Speaking after his round, Ooko expressed his delight in getting his form back, saying, “I needed to play well today, especially after yesterday. I am happy with my performance and look forward to an even better showing tomorrow.”
Ngige, on the other hand, played a round of 2 over par, 74, after a double bogey on the par-3 13th hole, which he failed to recover from.
The duo sits five shots ahead of the chasing pack, led by Golf Park's Tony Omuli, who played a round of par to take his gross score to 3 over par, 219, one shot ahead of Johnnie Walker sponsored Dismas Indiza.
Kennedy Abuto and Amateur Daniel Nduva are tied in 5th place on gross scores of 5 over par, 221, while the quartet of Golf Park's David Wakhu, Sigona Golf Club's Mohit Mediratta, Royal Nairobi Golf Club's Keneth Bollo, and Windsor Golf Club's Riz Charania sit tied in 7th place, on 6 over par, 222.
Action in the final round will tee off at 8:30am, with the winner of the third leg of the 2019/20 Safari tour set to be crowned at around 2:00pm.
The 2019/2020 Safari Tour Golf Series is proudly sponsored by Magical Kenya and Absa.
