It's Getting Tighter: Second Cut To Be Deployed At Magical Kenya Open
16th March 2019
With 79 golfers within Friday's 2 over par threshold, organisers will trim the field further later Saturday to the required field of 72
- This is different from previous Kenya Open Golf Championships where the Cut was applied after the first two rounds to reduce the field to the top 60 players and ties
- De Jager, who started the round sharing the lead with England's Jack Singh Brar on 7-under par, wasted no time in making his intentions clear
- Among the notable absentees from the cut were the 2018 Kenya Open winner Lorenzo Gagli, who played a round of 1-over par to take his total score to 3-over par. Others are Korean internet sensation Hu Sung Choi and Kenya's Dismas Indiza and Greg Snow
NAIROBI, Kenya- A second cut will be applied upon the conclusion of Round Three of the 2019 Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship Presented by Absa later Saturday to trim the field to the top 72 and ties.
This follows Friday’s cut, where 79 players were within the cut line – which was set at 2-over par for the tournament.
This is different from previous Kenya Open Golf Championships where the Cut was applied after the first two rounds to reduce the field to the top 60 players and ties.
Earlier in the week, the European Tour office had said:
“In the event that the cut after two rounds qualifies more than 78 players for the third and fourth rounds, then there will be an additional cut after three rounds to the leading 72 professionals and those who tie for 72nd place.
This third-round cut will not be implemented where circumstances dictate that there is no re-draw between rounds 3 and 4.”
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The second cut is a European Tour regulation to reduce the field to a manageable number to accommodate the demands of live TV come Sunday.
South Africa's Louis de Jager played a round of 5-under par 66 during the second round on Friday, to storm to the top of the leader board, with a total score of 12-under par.
Clear intentions
De Jager, who started the round sharing the lead with England's Jack Singh Brar on 7-under par, wasted no time in making his intentions clear.
Starting from the 10th tee, the South African started his round with back to back birdies, on the par-4, tenth and par-5, eleventh, following these up with further birdies on the thirteenth and eighteenth to finish his first nine without dropping a shot for a half way score of 4-under par, 32.
His next nine holes offered a stiffer challenge, as he dropped a couple of shots at the par-3, second and par-4, fifth. He would however recover well with a birdies on the third, sixth and ninth holes for a round score of 5-under par and a total score of 12-under par after the two rounds played. Four strokes ahead of Jack Singh Brar and Spain's Adri Arnaus who are tied for second slot.
Jack lost his grip on top spot after playing a round of one-under par, 70 following two bogeys and three birdies, with Arnaus shooting a round of 3-under par on the day to follow up his 5-under par score in the first round.
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Speaking after his round, De Jagger was delighted with his start and mentioned that he was getting used to the feel of the course as it was very similar to the conditions in South Africa.
"I started off birdie-birdie and it got me in the right mindset for the round, I kept it going, kept it on the fairways, kept hitting the greens and made a few putts.
"I'm getting used to the feel of the Kikuyu grass and the ball travels the same as back home in Pretoria, distance wise, so it really feels like we're back home." he said.
Among the notable absentees from the cut were the 2018 Kenya Open winner Lorenzo Gagli, who played a round of 1-over par to take his total score to 3-over par. Others are Korean internet sensation Hu Sung Choi and Kenya's Dismas Indiza and Greg Snow.