Indiza inches closer to Muthaiga title

Dismas Indiza is one round away from winning his second leg of the ongoing Safari Tour series that serves as the qualifying tournament to the Magical Kenya Open.

 The long-hitter won the third leg of the series hosted at VetLab and will now need to play better than the other 20 golfers to lift the title of the eighth leg ongoing at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club.  

 Indiza, carded one over par 72 in the third round at Muthaiga on Tuesday for a three-round total of four under par 209, as his good showing in the second round cushioned him from round three’s stiff competition on the course to remain top of the leaderboard with a round to go.

He started the round by missing a par at the par three-second hole, then birdied the fourth and sixth, but hit a bad approach shot at the ninth to drop his second shot of the day. He however started the back nine well, rolling in a birdie putt at the 10th. He however missed the greens at the 14th after a brilliant three-wood shot, then hit his second shot to the water at the 15th to pick up a double bogey.

He however pitched to about a foot from the pin at the 17th for an easy birdie, before three-putting the par five-18th for par after an impressive drive. He tops the list of 21 at four under par 209.

“I was going for either eagle or a birdie on the 18th, but I did not get the first putt well. All in all, my game was not bad and I still have a great chance of winning tomorrow if I am able to play the way I played in the second round,” said Indiza who will be joined by Sigona’s Mohit Mediratta and Zambia’s Dayne Moore in the final round which gets underway at 8 AM on Wednesday.

Mediratta shot two under par 69, his second in the tournament for a total of three under par 210. He bogeyed the eighth after making birdies at the third and at the par five-seventh, while at the back nine, Mediratta who is chasing his first-ever pro victory, birdied the 12th and 15th, bogeyed the 16th after missing the green, then like Indiza, he also three-putted the 18th for par.

“I enjoyed my round despite the few shots I dropped. I still believe I have a good chance of winning here. All I need is to try and enjoy the round tomorrow, as I am playing alongside good players. I will play according to my plan and hope for a better round,” said Mediratta adding that the Muthaiga course at the moment is in excellent condition and can host any international event.

Zambian Moore on the other hand, dropped two shots at the front nine with only one birdie at the fourth. At the back nine, Moore hit a brilliant drive for a nine-iron approach shot, for an easy eagle, but soon after dropped a shot at the par three-11th, hit his driver to the left trees at the 18th, came out well but missed the greens, to drop a shot which left him with one over par 72 and a three rounds total of one under par 212.