Kenya: Ace Bothma Dethrones Brit Llyod

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Samson Ateka

2 April 2011

Muthaiga Club was full of drama as the prestigious Barclays Kenya Open Golf Championship entered its halfway stage. While anxiety of making cuts gripped local pros, South African Michiel Bothma was literally riding on the crest of the waves.

Yesterday, Bothma shot 4 under par 67 for an aggregate total lead of 133 (-9). The local assault was spearheaded by Greg Snow and Nicholas Rokoine who generated considerable interest among local spectators, who trailed him all the way.

Youngster Snow, who teed off from the 10th tee, was indeed the local star attraction as he became the first Kenyan to make the cut. Nicholas Rokoine, who led the Kenyan assault on Thursday with 4 under par 67 also made the cut despite scary play on holes 10 and 13 where he picked bogeys.

For Kenyans, it was a rather encouraging start unlike last year when only Ali Kimani made it to the money bracket (cut).

Snow, an ex-student of Odessa University in Texas, went to bed with 2 under par 69 on Thursday but shot 3 under par 68 yesterday for a total of 5 under par 137.

Snow has been the hottest property in the Kenyan professional ranks lately especially after his victory in the second round of the KCB EA Tour and Jamii Telecom PGK Masters. Snow could hardly conceal his joy upon clearing his round for the day. “But you still have to go out there and do the business, so I couldn’t be happier with how it’s gone so far. It was a great experience for me to play with Marc (Warren) and Daniel (Vancsik) on the first two days, because they’re both great guys and great players. They’ve won four European Tour titles between them, so playing with guys of that experience and quality can only improve my game. I had a good chat with them on the way round, and I learned a lot,” said Snow. Play was quite dramatic and unforgiving to some extent.

Thursday’s overnight leader Chris Lloyd from England got a rude wake up call yesterday morning when Tyrone Mordt returned to finish his opening round, and promptly added a further birdie to the six he notched on the rain-affected first day to climb to the top of the leaderboard. But this was only short-lived when Bothman swung into action. Lloyd finished 4 under.

Bothman was all smiles: “I played nicely again today. I’ve said before I like this course, and I really do- it just seems to suit my game. The back nine is definitely the easier of the two-that’s where you’ve got to pick up most of your shots, and just consolidate on the front nine. The wind can make life quite tricky on the front nine, because it keeps switching direction so you’re never quite sure which way it’s blowing. But I love the climate out here, and with the altitude, the ball flight is very similar to back home in South Africa. I feel very comfortable.”

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