Karen Masters: Snow hits form as Thimba cuts Ferreiras lead to one stroke

Kenya’s Greg Snow bounced back with an impressive round of 6 under par 66 to regain top 10 on the KCB Karen Masters leaderboard.

The Muthaiga professional who finished fourth in the inaugural edition in 2017 had his penultimate day campaign effectively sewn-up when he sunk four birdies in the front nine and three in the back nine.

Snow, now the leading Kenyan on T8, started off on T2 in Thursday’s round one but dipped to T23 when he shot 2 over par 74 on Friday.

The Safari Tour champion was nevertheless back in the grove upon closing day 3 proceedings with a gross total of 9 under par 207.

“Round three was all good as I was able to regain the top 10. I tried my level best to control the ball by hitting the greens more but I still feel I need to practice a lot more on my putting. The course is good condition and I see no reason why locals should not play well. In Sunday’s last round I will surely  stay relaxed and see how it goes. I wish to thank my sponsors Johnny Walker for sponsoring me and (Dismas) Indiza. At least it has eased off a big burden on our expenses,” said Snow.

Snow birdied holes 1, 2,4,7, 12, 19 and 18 but dropped a shot on the par 4 -9^th.

Golf Park pro David Wakhu is the second best placed Kenyan on a gross total of 7 under par 205 after dropping a shot on the par 4- 18^th. Wakhu goes into the last round in joint 14th position.

Third placed local is Mumias long-hitter Dismas Indiza who heads to the closing round on a gross total of 5 under.

On the summit, the battle for the blue jacket served-up great moments ahead for fans with Portuguese Stephen Ferreira’s lead being trimmed to a mere one shot.

Ferreira has led the 2019 edition of the Masters from the start and has remained the darling of fans since Thursday.

Ferreira started round three with a three shot cushion, but not until South Africa’s Toto Thimba pilled immense pressure to cut his lead to a solitary shot. Both went into the last two holes separated by one stroke.

Ferreira wowed spectators at the par 72 Karen Country Club on Thursday when he set a course record with a scintillating round of 10 under par 62. But Thimba who led his team to Pro-Am victory on Wednesday bounced back on day two with a stunning 9 under par 63 and its been neck and neck affair between the two front runners. Whatever’s up their sleeves will be known on the last round on Sunday when the winner of the blue jacket will be feted.

Meanwhile, Kenya’s indiza hopes to attack the last round.

“After round two, I was just trying to stay patient and started off really solid today (Saturday). I drove the ball nicely, hit a lot of good quality shots into the greens. Lets hope for the best but I am excited with the score the locals have posted so far with 9 Kenyans in the money bracket. It’s a clear indication that standards have improved,” said Indiza who wrapped up day three play on T25 with a score of 5 under par n 211.

Wakhu said: “It would have been nice to go eight under, but it became a mission impossible when I bogied the 18^th hole.”

DAY 3 LEADERBOARD

1. Stephen Ferreira  POR         62,  66,  68, (-20) 196
2. Toto Thimba  RSA         68,  63,  66,  (-19)197
3. JC Ritchie  RSA              69,  64,  69   -14202
4. Garrick Higgo  RSA       67,  67,  69 (-13)  203
5. MJ Viljoen  RSA    69,  69,  67   (-11) 205

T6.  Keith Horne  RSA         70,  69,  67   (-10) 206

T6.   CJ du Plessis  RSA         69,  67,  70   (-10)206

T8.  Steve Surry  ENG          71,  70,  66   (-9) 207

T8.   Greg Snow  KEN           67,  74, 66     (-9) 207

T10. Estiaan Conradie  RSA        69, 72,  67   (-8)  208

T10.  Callum Mowat  RSA   70,  70,  68   (-8)  208

T10. Jacques P de Villiers  RSA  68,  69,  71 (-8) 208

T10.  Michael Palmer  RSA 69, 67, 72      (-8)  208

14. Kyle McClatchie  RSA    74,  67,  68   (-7) 209

T14. Peetie van der Merwe  RSA  69, 71, 69 (-7)   209

T14. David Wakhu  KEN      69,  70,  70 (-7)    209