Ooko leading Kenyan pros' list at Kenya Open after round one action

Golf Park’s resident golfer Eric Ooko was his usual calm self as he tackled the tough Karen Country Club course on the first round of the Magical Kenya Open, where he dropped a few shots but an eagle at the par-four ninth made all the difference as he carded two under par 69 for the day to finish as the best-placed Kenyan pro on the field.

His score of two under is similar to that of Muthaiga junior Taimur Malik who handled the Karen course with grace to card two under as well and finish as the best-placed amateur after the round. 

Picking a bogey on his first tee at the par-four hole one, Ooko dropped another shot at the par-four third but managed to get his groove back to pick a birdie at the par-four seventh followed by the eagle on the ninth for a 34 on his front nine.

He carried the front nine mojo to the back nine where he picked back-to-back birdies at the par-four tenth and par-five eleventh. He, however, dropped shots at the par-four 13th and 15th, picking his fourth birdie of the round at the par-three 16th for a back nine of 35 in and a total of two under par 69.

“I did not struggle but still managed to play two under so I will not complain. That is what God intended for me. The course is quite tough because the greens are firm. Sometimes one can chip and the ball runs off the green but as pros, we cannot complain about the green being hard or soft so I managed. I was swinging a little better today though I picked many bogeys. We have more rounds to play and I will keep doing what I have been preparing to do and hope for the best,” said Ooko.

Antony Juma picked two bogeys and three birdies to close the first round at one under par 70 closing the list of Kenyans who managed under par scores on the first round.

Muthaiga’s Greg Snow, who finished in seventh place at the 2014 Kenya Open and is looking to replicate that feat at Karen, closed the day at par. Snow had five birdies but his hard work was canceled out by three bogeys and a double-bogey at the par-five sixth.

Jacob Okello, the only Kenyan to have had a real chance at victory at the Open in 1998, closed the round at one over par 72 after picking two birdies and three bogeys. Simon Ngige and Samuel Njoroge, who is featuring at the Open for the first time as a pro having graduated from the unpaid ranks late last year before the Safari Tour teed-off, closed the day at one over.