There were celebrations in Kenya’s camp after Naomi Wafula hit a spectacular ‘Hole-in-One’ in the second round of the SportsBiz Africa Golf Championship at Kigali Golf Resort & Villas course on Thursday.
The Vipingo Baobab Resort Club’s lady golfer who recently turned professional had her rare luck calling on the par-3 second hole.
The shot, coupled with steady play across the round, helped her post a brilliant 4-under-par 68 gross, bringing her tournament total to 1-over-par 145 gross that also secured her a place among the top 30 players who made the cut going to the final round on Friday.
“I used both exceptional skill and a bit of good luck for this rare and iconic achievement, the ultimate shot in golf. Today was a great round. I came in with the mentality to just enjoy myself and not put too much pressure. On hole two, I hit my iron, but from the tee, I thought it was short. Since the green is uphill, we couldn’t see where it landed.
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“When we got up there, I thought the ball had rolled over the slope, but one of the caddies said a ball had dropped in. When we checked, it was mine, it was a hole-in-one! I was super happy, but my caddie calmed me down and reminded me that I still had a lot of golf to play. That confidence carried me through the round,” said Wafula.
On the leaderboard, Kenya’s C.J. Wangai fought hard to remain second on a total of 138 gross, sharing the slot with South Africa’s Travis Procter and Haydn Porteous who also recorded the same total round score.
Eric Ooko, who shared second slot in round one on Wednesday with Wangai, dropped on his round of 2-under-par 70, with birdies on 8, 10, 11 and 18 offset by bogeys on 4 and 17 to lift him to 5-under-par 139 gross, just outside the top three.
At the top remained Rwanda’s Celestin Nsanzuwera who delighted the home crowd with a sensational performance.
Using his knowledge of the course to his advantage, Nsanzuwera fired nine birdies and an eagle to a stunning 9-under-par 63 gross, extending his overall lead to 13-under-par 131 gross after two rounds.
“It was an amazing round today. Unlike in the first round, I didn’t feel much pressure and that helped me stay calm. Starting with back-to-back birdies and then an eagle on the third gave me so much confidence. I told myself to just keep going up and up. I had 23 putts all round and hit every fairway. Being my home course, I used that knowledge to my advantage. On the final day, the plan is the same, play the fairways, trust my putts and stay focused, “said Nsanzuwera.
Out of the 34 Kenyans among the 121 total players from other countries, 16 of them made the cut that includes Charles. J. Wangai, Jastas Madoya, Dismas Indiza, Mutahi Kibugu, Samuel Njoroge, Michael Karanga, John Lejirma, David Wakhu, Ken Abuto, Greg Snow, Daniel Nduva, Mohit Mediratta, Jacob Okello and Njoroge Kibugu.
The cut was set at 3-over-par 147 gross, narrowing the field to 30 golfers who sailed to the decisive final round for a share of the USD 25,000 prize purse, along with crucial Sunshine Development Tour points, Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points and World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) points.