Indiza blows hot, then cold as Soderberg tops BKO

Kenyan hopes at the 2016 Barclays Kenya Open (BKO) were raised on Saturday when veteran Dismas Indiza moved to the share of the lead at Nairobi’s Karen Country Club before he faltered to 17th at the end of the penultimate day of the Europe Challenge tour event where the course record tumbled as a highlight.

The long-hitting Mumias based professional began his round with back-to-back eagles and moved into a share of the lead, but he faltered coming in and finished on six under par, seven shots behind the club house leader, Sebastian Soderberg of Sweden.

Indiza who is six under for the tournament with 210 fired 71 on Saturday and was one of the three local golfers who made the cut to play in the last two days of the European Challange opener of the season.

Brian Njoroge also carded level par for a total one under 213 while Simon Ngige shot two over 73 for 216 (+1) as the country’s wait for a first Kenya Open winner looks set to be extended for another year.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his predecessor, Mwai Kibaki are expect in Karen on Sunday to follow the final rounds of action and later, fete the winners as Frenchman Joël Stalter posted a superb 64 to break the course record on a riveting day of golfing action.

Ngigi will be the first Kenyan out at 9:10am local time (+3GMT) with Njoroge teeing off at 10:00am followed by Indiza who moved the crowd to frenzied hope before his game deserted him.

While Indiza, Ngigi and Njoroge are seasoned professionals, the pristine signature local golf event has once again taught the home golfers a thorough lesson on investing in young golfers.

Amateur Nyali based youngster, Njuguna Ngugi, 18 captured the imagination on Day 1 when he moved to third on the leaderboard before the pressure got to him and failed to make the cut at the end of Friday.

Soderberg’s four under par round of 68 gave the Swede a three shot lead with the 25 year-old starting the day one shot behind South Africa’s Jacques Blaauw, but seven birdies put Soderberg on 13 under par going into the final round.

The Gothenburg native’s previous best finish is a tie for third at last year’s EMC Challenge Open but he showed few nerves as four birdies in five holes around the turn gave him a cushion at the top of the leaderboard.

“I definitely felt more pressure today but I think I managed it pretty well,” he said. “I might look calm on the outside but there’s definitely pressure – I like it though, you’re looking to put yourself in that position.

“I started off so-so on the front nine but I really got it going around the turn and after that it felt pretty good, and it was great to finish with a birdie as well.

“I was just trying to stick to my game plan, I figured someone was going to shoot a good number and I didn’t really change my approach, just hit some really good putts which gave me some momentum.

“The support and crowds we have here is awesome, it’s a lot of fun to have a lot of people out there and it’s great to see how many came out today, and hopefully even more tomorrow.

“I didn’t know what anyone else was doing until I came down 18, I was just playing my own game, but I’m not going to try to avoid scoreboards tomorrow, I’m just going to keep playing how I’ve played these last two days.”

-Biggest climb-

By far the biggest climb on moving day came from Stalter who shot up into a share of second place with Germany’s Sebastian Heisele placing him perfect poise to mount a charge for the crown.

“I played really well,” said the 23 year old. “I was close to every pin, made a few putts and even on the back nine, obviously you can’t make everything, but I missed a few easy opportunities but then I made others – it was just a really good round of golf.

“I had no idea what the course record was, but that’s a great thing to have, especially in a tournament, and it will be fun to be back close to the leaders – hopefully I can do something similar to this again tomorrow.”

French amateur Romain Langasque, the first player to take advantage of new changes to the Challenge Tour regulations allowing amateurs to earn Road to Oman Ranking points, is inside the top five on eight under par.

Report derived from www.europeantour.com