Ngige unbothered by Nyali meltdown

Thika Golf Club’s Simon Ngige has his eyes firmly set on playing better than he did in his last Magical Kenya Open when the 2021 event tees off on March 18 at the Karen Country Club.

 His resolve to better his five under par 279 from the 2019 edition of the Open has him unbothered by a bad round at the just concluded Nyali Open, the seventh leg of the Safari Tour series, that denied him the title at the Mombasa event.

Ngige had led after the first and third rounds of the Nyali event but collapsed when it mattered the most, the final round. Going into the fourth day of action with a one-shot lead at one under par 212, the 35-year old only needed to maintain the same consistency from the first round to clinch the title. He, however, shot six over par 77 to close the competition in fourth place on five over par 289.

“I was exhausted in the back nine of the final round and that affected my game. My caddie did not help much too. He must have been tired too. Unfortunately, I had a bad day when I needed to be consistent to win. I am, however, not frustrated as that is part of the game. I have shifted my focus to Muthaiga and will be on the course on Friday, February 5, afternoon,” said Ngige.

Golfers taking part in the Safari Tour, the qualifying competition to the Kenya Open, have little time to rest as the penultimate round of the qualifiers is set for Muthaiga with the pro-Am being played on Saturday.

“I am not comfortable with my swing so I will be back on the range to work on that. While my focus has shifted to Muthaiga, I am particularly perfecting my game for the Open as a slot in the Open is guaranteed no matter the outcome in the remaining two legs of the Tour,” added Ngige who is currently fifth in the order of merit.