Darius van Driel produced five birdies, an eagle at the par-5 10th and two bogeys to close with a 5-under 66 and take the opening lead at the Magical Kenya Open.
“It was pretty solid,” said the Dutchman. “Hit a lot of fairways, which you need to do here or you make it very hard for yourself. I holed some nice putts, it went exactly how I wanted to play, so I’m happy.
“I see this course more as a links course, fiddly with the altitude and the heat. There’s a bit of scraping it around, I kind of like that golf.
“I have a little bit of a cough, so it’s not ideal for me with the heat and the altitude, but I managed to get through.
“You just have to be patient. You can hit a good drive and still end up in the rough and have no shot, like Marcus (Kinhult) had on ten, or you can hit it left side of the fairway and it kicks back. You’ve got to be very patient, especially with the wind, you just grind it out.”
Compatriot Daan Huizing, France’s Frederic Lacroix, Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen, Germany’s Yannick Schuetz, Scotland’s Connor Syme and South Africa’s Ryan van Velzen are tied in second place at 4-under.
