Snow Thaws Competition To Clinch Third Safari Tour Crown In Muthaiga

NAIROBI, Kenya- Muthaiga Golf Club’s Greg Snow kept up his impressive on his home course to claim his third title and his fourth top prize money win in the 2018/19 Safari Tour golf series on Wednesday.

Snow, who had played an impressive round of 7-under par on Day 3, started the final round in decent form hitting par in the opening two holes before dropping shots at the Par-4 3rd and par-4 9th. He however managed a birdie on the first nine at the Par-5 seventh for 36.

He then followed it up with an impressive back nine score of 34, with birdies at the Par-4 14th and Par-5 18th, to return a score of one under par 70 for the day, taking his total to an impressive 13-under par 271, 15 strokes ahead of closest challengers Dismas Indiza and Riz Charania who were tied for second. With this score, Snow became the first player in the Safari Tour to return scores of under par in all the four rounds played.

Speaking after the win, Greg credited his work on his shot game as the key to the success, "After Thika, I noticed that my shot game was a bit off, so I put some bit of work on it and I am glad to see the results. The hot conditions over the past five days made the greens a bit faster but I managed to keep up and I am pleased with my overall performance."

"I'll have a few days of rest before getting back to work ahead of the last leg in Karen." He added.

Snow extended his overall lead on the Road to the 2019 Kenya Open ranking to 95.5 points; having picked up maximum points over the last four Safari Tour events. For his efforts, Snow took home KSh450,000 following the tripling of the Prize Money as a result of a boost in sponsorship from both Johnnie Walker and Barclays Bank of Kenya.

Mumias-based Dismas Indiza, returned an impressive score of 2-under par 69, the best of the fourth round, to see him finish the tournament with a total of 2-over par 286, tied for second with Riz Charania. Simon Ngige at 4-over par 288 and David Wakhu at 6-over par 290, rounded up the top five positions at Muthaiga.

Regional plans

Meanwhile, Edwin Mudanyi was crowned the amateur winner, after returning a decent score of 14-over par 298, to place him 14th on the overall log. Speaking on his performance over the four days of competition, Mudanyi was happy with the exposure the tournament gave him.

"It has been a great experience playing with the pros, my overall performance has given me great confidence and will go a long way in further preparing me to become a professional."

While congratulating the winners, Kenya Open Golf Championship tournament director Patrick Obath, was impressed by the improving standards of play witnessed during the tour and expressed his confidence in local professionals performing well at the European Tour Kenya Open this year.

"We have seen a steady improvement in the standards of play during the tour, today Greg Snow became the first golfer in the series to return scores of under par through out the four rounds of play. It is performances like these that make us confident of great performances by our pros at the upcoming Kenya Open."

Speaking on the future of the Safari Tour, Obath revealed plans of expanding the competition.

"This year we are looking at including regional tournaments in Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi to the Safari Tour, this will ensure that we grow the sport of Golf around the region."

Safari tour action resumes next month with the last leg set to be played at the Karen Country Club from February 16 to 20, ahead of the Kenya Open in March at the same venue.

Safari Tour Calendar 2018/19

Event 1 - Nyali Golf & CC - 18 - 22 August [Winner: David Wakhu]

Event 2 - Vet Lab SC - 1 - 5 Sept [Winner: Greg Snow]

Event 3 - Limuru Country Club - 27 - 31 October [Winner: Michael Karanga (am)]

Event 4 - Thika Greens- 14 – 19 December [Winner: Greg Snow]

Event 5 – Muthaiga Golf Club - 11 - 16 January [Winner: Greg Snow]

Event 6 – Karen Country Club - 16 - 20 February