Njoroge Kibugu moves to the helm at East Africa Swing Qualifying School
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Reading Time: 4min | Tue. 01.04.25. | 22:00
It was a round to forget for round one's runner up, Isaiah Otuke, who returned a score of 8-over par 79, to drop 14 places to sixteenth on the leaderboard, with an overall score of 6-over par, 148
Njoroge Kibugu returned a blemish-free, round leading scorecard of 3-under par, 68 to climb to the top of the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing Qualifying School (Q-School) tournament leaderboard.
The day's performance saw him take his total tally to 3-under par, 139 after round two action at the par 71 Great Rift Valley Golf Resort in Naivasha, Kenya.
On what was a tough day all round as players sought to make the cut, Njoroge, who started the day tied in fifth place, played steadily through the first nine, holding par in the first eight holes, before birding the par-4 ninth.
He would take a similar approach on the back nine, carding pars on the first three holes as the field around him crumbled, with overnight leader John Lejirma and Mike Kisia, who was in second at this point, bogeying the par-4 tenth.
Njoroge would then record back-to-back birdies at the par-4 13th and par-5 14th holes he had bogeyed in the first round before playing safely through the tricky last three holes, which claimed many casualties in the round, including the round one leader and runner-up.
“I can't complain about today's round. I hit the ball the way I wanted to hit it and placed it where I wanted. All round I am proud of how I played today, it tells me I am consistent," Kibugu said adding that hitting plenty of fairways and enough greens helped him make enough pars but was surprised to get more birdies in the back nine despite giving himself more birdie chances on the front nine.
“I hope to continue to be consistent, through the next rounds, stick to my game plan and process. I have been here before, I know what I need to do and hopefully I will end up on top," he added.
Round one leader, Lejirma, stumbled at the back nine, with bogeys on the par-4 10th, par-3 15th, par-5 17th and par-4 18th, to relinquish the lead and finish in second with a round score of 1-over par 72, taking his overall score to 2-under par, 140.
“My goal today was to keep the momentum going, unfortunately I ran into some hiccups, especially in the second nine, where I dropped shots at 17 and 18. First nine went well, but it couldn't stick," he offered. “I am going into tomorrow with my chin up, my main focus will be to stick to my game plan, staying present and making good decisions on the course.”
Muthaiga Golf Club's Greg Snow had a tough start to the round, with back-to-back bogeys on the first and second, and a further one on the fifth. A rally on the back nine, would eventually end in his fourth bogey of the day at the 18th, to return a round score of 1-over par 72, taking his overall score to 1-under par, 141, and see him maintain third place on the leaderboard.
“I had a very slow start. I bogeyed the first two holes and couldn't get anything going. It's frustrating, but I'm still in the tournament, so I am going to try to stay low in the next two days," he offered. “You've got to stay patient on this golf course, because it can really bite you. Overall I gave myself a chance in the round but I couldn't capitalize, hopefully I can do, the next two days.”
It was a round to forget for round one's runner up, Isaiah Otuke, who returned a score of 8-over par 79, to drop 14 places to sixteenth on the leaderboard, with an overall score of 6-over par, 148.
The biggest gains on the leaderboard included, Golf Park's Galgalo Abraham, who moved up fifteen places to ninth place, with a round score of 1-under par 70, tied with Dismas Indiza who moved up eight places and Rwanda's Celestin Nsanzuwera, moving nine places up to sixth place.
A total of 52 golfers made the CUT, which was set at 18 Over par, to play in round three and four, the list includes 13 amateurs, among them ladies Kellie Gachanga and Joyce Wanjiru.
The field of 54 will be targeting a share of the Ksh1 Million prize purse, and more importantly, the top ten slots that will earn them an invite to play at the Sunshine Tour Final Stage Qualifier, set for 8 to 11 April 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Round three action tees off at 7:30 AM, with the pair of Anthony Macharia Irungu teeing off from the 10th as Alfred Nandwa, William Odek and Sammy Mulama getting the round underway from the first tee.
The leading group of Snow, Lejirma and Kibugu will tee off at 8:42 AM, off the first tee.
