Royal Nairobi Golf Club’s elite amateur, John Lejirma, shot a round of 67 to take leadership on day three of the qualification round of the Sunshine Tour at Great Rift Valley Golf Resort ,Naivasha.
His round was the joint lowest of the tournament at the par 71 Course, seeing him return to the summit with a four-shot lead going into the final round.
Lejirma who had previously held the tournament’s lead after round one, started the day in second, one shot behind the lead.
He would steadily build up through the round, shooting a 1-under par, front nine score, off three birdies and two bogeys.
At this point, he had taken over the lead from Njoroge who had a torrid time through the same holes, returning a score of 8-over par.
At the back nine, Lejirma was blemish free, shooting three birdies, at the par-4 13th, par-5 14th and at the par-4 18th a hole he bogeyed at in the last round.
Speaking on his round, Lejirma said, “Today was a good day, especially after yesterday which was a bit of a grind. Today I felt more in control of my game, I stuck to my strategy, made better decisions and the putts decided to fall.”
“Coming in tomorrow, I will approach it positively and hopefully it will pay off, I need to keep the momentum going, nothing is guaranteed as I am playing against a solid field. I need to focus on strategy and not place any pressure on myself.” He added.
Kigali Golf Resort & Villa’s Celestin Nsanzuwera, also shot a round leading score of 4-under par, 67 to see him move up four places into second place on an overall score of 2-under par, 211.
Celestin’s had an almost similar round to Lejirma’s, shooting a score of 1-under par through the front nine courtesy of three birdies and two bogeys, the bogeys coming at the same holes as Lejirma’s, at two par-4s the fourth and seventh.
Celestin would go on to challenge for the lead, with triple birdies in the opening holes on the back nine, with a further birdie at the 14th, he would then drop a shot at the par-5 17th, while holding par through the rest of the holes.
Speaking after his round, Celestin said, “My game plan coming into this round was to play better which I did, my shots stuck, and my putting was my strongest weapon in this round.”
“Going into tomorrow, I won’t change much in terms of my strategy, I hope to go on and win, but if I don’t I hope to keep my current position. Winning this tournament would be a great opportunity for me and my country to be placed on the golf map. Yes, there is pressure, but nothing I can’t handle.” He added.
Kakamega Golf Club’s Dismas Indiza’s steady rise on the leader board continued in round three, moving up five places, to finish the round T3, after returning a score of 2-under par, 69 to take his total tally to 2-over par, 215.
Indiza barely put a foot wrong through the round, recording two bogies at the par-4 9th and par-3 12th.
Other big movers on the day included Golf Park’s David Wakhu, who moved up 10 places to 18th, and Mutahi Kibugu who finished in 19th, 14 places better than he finished yesterday.
Speaking on his round, Indiza said “I really enjoyed my round today, I played alongside some great players who challenged me to play well. I however missed a short putt on the 9th but overall, I am happy.”
“You can never be too sure with the sport of golf, depending on how the pin positions are placed, I’ll however look to give it the best I have.” He added.
Mutahi’s brother Njoroge didn’t have the same fate, as he dropped 8 places to finish the round placed in T9 on a score of 8-over par, 221 for the event.
The last round of action will tee off at 7:30 AM, off both tees, with the leading group made up of Dismas Indiza, Celestin Nsanzuwera and John Lejirma teeing off at 8:33AM off the first tee.
The overall winner of the tournament will walk away with KES 180,000, from the total purse of KES 1 million, with the top 10 receiving invites to play at the Sunshine Tour Final Stage Qualifier, set for 8th to the 11th of April 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
