Sizzling Rizwan in driving seat at Windsor

Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club’s Rizwan Charania shot an impressive round of 1-under par 71 at his home course leg of the Safari Tour golf series to take the club-house lead on Round One of the tournament.

He played a blemish-free first nine round, picking up birdies on the par-5, third and the par-5, fifth for a first nine score of 34 – having held par on the rest. On the back nine, he dropped shots on the par-3, 13th (where he hit double-bogey) and the par-4 14th but managed birdies at the par-5, 15th and at the par-4, 18th for a back nine total of 37.

Speaking after the round, Charania said that he was happy with his performance on day one of the Windsor leg of the Safari Tour, adding that he will use the lead as a motivation for the remaining three rounds of the leg.

“I am pleased with my performance today; it wasn’t easy, but I managed to play under-par to top the leaderboard. I am now focusing on first making the Cut tomorrow before thinking of the remaining two rounds. I will definitely use today’s performance as an inspiration for the remaining rounds,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ugandan David Kamulindwa and Sigona Golf Club’s Sujan Shah returned impressive scores on the round to finish the day tied for second with 1-over par 73 scores. On the first nine, Kamulindwa started off impressively, picking up a birdie on the par-4, sixth and proceeding to play bogey-free for a total of 35. On the back nine, he picked up a lone birdie on the par-5, 15th, but dropped shots at the par-3, 13th, the par-4, 14th, and the par-4, 18th for a back nine total of 38.

On his part, Shah picked up birdied at the par-5, third, par-4, sixth and par-4, ninth but dropped shots at the par-4, seventh and the par-3, eighth (where he holed a double-bogey) for a first nine total of 36. On the back nine, he started off brilliantly, holding par on the 10th and the 11th before holing a birdie on the 12th. He dropped a shot on the 13th but made amends with a birdie on the 14th. He then dropped shots at the 16th and 18th for a back nine total of 37.

Mumias Sugar’s Dismas Indiza, Muthaiga’s Jeff Kubwa and Railways Alfred Nadwa tied for fourth with a decent 2-over par 74 score. Meanwhile, Road to Kenya Open ranking leader and three-time Safari Tour Champion, Greg Snow, found the going tough on round one of the Windsor leg of the Safari Tour to return a 3-over par 75 score to tie for seventh alongside Professional Golfers of Kenya Captain, John Wangai, Windsor’s David Opati and Golf Park’s James Karanja.

In the PRO-AM event held at the same venue yesterday, Nyanza Golf Club’s David Odhiambo scored 36 points to combine with the best amateur score for his team of 48 for a total of 84 to win the PRO-AM tournament. The team led by Kopan Timbe returned a combined score of 83 to clinch second place, while the team led by Sullivan Muthugia posted a combined score of 82 to settle for third.

Action resumes tomorrow at the Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club for Round Two of the final Road to Kenya Open Safari Tour event where the total cash prize is KES 3 million courtesy of a sponsorship by Magical Kenya, Barclays Bank of Kenya and Johnnie Walker.