Magical Kenya Open R2

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Hend and Samooja share lead in Kenya
Posted on
March 19, 2021
by
The Editorial Team in ,
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Kenya Open 2021 R2

March 18-21
Karen Country Club, Nairobi, Kenya
โ‚ฌ1,000,000
Round 1, Round 3, Round 4



Kenya Open 2021 R2 - Hend and Samooja share lead in Kenya
Scott Hend (Getty Images)

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes


Scott Hend and Kalle Samooja moved into a share of the lead at the Magical Kenya Open presented by Johnnie Walker, with a packed leaderboard setting up an exciting weekend.



The short and tricky nature of Karen Country Club has resulted in a tightly bunched field after the opening two rounds, but Australian Hend and Finland's Samooja did enough to edge one shot ahead of the rest on 11 under par.

Three-time European Tour winner Hend dropped a shot at the last to miss out on the outright lead but a seven under par round of 64 underlined a return to form after three successive missed cuts.


Kenya Open 2021 R2



"I played quite solid, hit a lot of the par fours and par fives in regulation so I had some tap in birdies," said Hend. "I've been a little inconsistent and it's a little bit tricky out there so obviously I shot a good score but I missed a lot of putts so hopefully I can improve on that at the weekend."

I'll take what I get though, I've been playing terrible golf so far this year so it's starting to turn around. I've just been driving it a bit better, putting a bit better. I've got a new set of irons in the bag from Titleist so it's a combination of everything and hopefully the melon gets back on the shoulders and I can start going forward instead of losing it off in the trees."


Kenya Open 2021 R2


Kenya Open 2021 R2

I don't think the wind affects it that much here because you're at so much altitude, it's like Joburg or Crans, unless it's blowing 40 you really don't' pay too much attention to it, so if it's coming off the left you maybe take it a couple of metres left, instead of ten metres. The ball cuts through the air quite a lot here so it's not really a big challenge." 

Samooja, meanwhile, birdied his final hole โ€“ the ninth โ€“ for a five under par 66, the 33-year-old chasing a maiden European Tour victory at an event which has yielded good results in the past โ€“ he finished tied for sixth at Karen two years ago while he also earned a top three on the Challenge Tour at this event in 2018, at Muthaiga Country Club.

โ€œI got off to a flying start, opening with three birdies, and then I was struggling a little bit to get quality shots," said Samooja. "I don't know why but I played the sixth hole really badly. It was just a bit of back luck from the rough and then a bit unlucky with the second shot, coming back into the bunker and then I struggled with the short game. 

"Then a huge bonus at seven from the front of the green, I don't know how long it was โ€“ 50 metres, maybe more โ€“ for an eagle and then a good birdie at the last so I'm really happy with how I finished the round today. A birdie would have been good enough on seven but eagle gave me a bit of a boost for those last two holes."




Kenya Open 2021 R2

Scots Richie Ramsay and Connor Syme share third place with Dean Burmester of South Africa on 10 under par, with 38 more players within six shots of the lead heading into the final two days in Nairobi.

"I think I'm very fortunate around here, a lot of guys are hitting drivers and three woods and I'm just hitting two iron everywhere, and that's my favourite club in the bag," said Burmester. "I was ecstatic when I pitched up here on Tuesday and saw the golf course. So far it's going well, new putter is working also. (Off the seventh) I hit two iron to the front edge today. Kenya Open 2021 R2

"If you can get on a hot streak, as long as you keep it on the fairway and in play you are going to have a lot of chances. If you're holing putts here and there it's easy to put in a low one. If you keep the runs going and score on the scoreable holes, you're going to do well around here. 

"It definitely reminds me of (Harare Country Club). My mom has played well there, and won numerous tournaments around there. I was lucky enough to win there in 2015, the Zim Open. Being born there, that was awesome. The only difference is this is probably slightly flatter around the greens. Lots of irons and three woods off the tee there, and pure greens like we have here. It's exciting and I can't wait for the weekend."


Kenya Open 2021 R2


Pos.
Player
To Par
R1
R2
Total
T1
Scott Hend
-11
67
64
131
T1
Kalle Samooja
-11
65
66
131
T3
Dean Burmester
-10
68
64
132
T3
Richie Ramsay
-10
67
65
132
T3
Connor Syme
-10
65
67
132
T6
Justin Harding
-9
66
67
133
T6
Calum Hill
-9
65
68
133
T6
Raphael Jacquelin
-9
65
68
133
T6
Kurt Kitayama
-9
67
66
133
T10
Garrick Higgo
-7
67
68
135
T10
Matthew Southgate
-7
66
69
135
T12
Nino Bertasio
-6
67
69
136
T12
Jamie Donaldson
-6
69
67
136
T12
Victor Dubuisson
-6
68
68
136
T12
Jean Baptiste Gonnet
-6
68
68
136
T12
Benjamin Hebert
-6
64
72
136
T12
Sam Horsfield
-6
65
71
136
T12
Søren Kjeldsen
-6
67
69
136
T12
Guido Migliozzi
-6
71
65
136
T12
Wilco Nienaber
-6
67
69
136
T12
Bernd Ritthammer
-6
65
71
136
T12
Jack Senior
-6
68
68
136
T12
Dale Whitnell
-6
66
70
136
T24
Pep Angles
-5
70
67
137
T24
Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez
-5
67
70
137
T24
Gavin Kyle Green
-5
68
69
137
T24
Joachim B. Hansen
-5
68
69
137
T24
Romain Langasque
-5
67
70
137
T24
Francesco Laporta
-5
70
67
137
T24
Adrian Otaegui
-5
70
67
137
T24
Aaron Rai
-5
70
67
137
T24
Ricardo Santos
-5
71
66
137
T24
Matthias Schwab
-5
71
66
137
T24
Johannes Veerman
-5
68
69
137
T24
Oliver Wilson
-5
70
67
137
T24
Lars van Meijel
-5
68
69
137
T37
Gaganjeet Bhullar *
-4
66
72
138
T37
George Coetzee
-4
72
66
138
T37
Niklas Lemke *
-4
67
71
138
T37
Adrian Meronk *
-4
65
73
138
T37
Jayden Schaper
-4
68
70
138
T37
Jordan Smith *
-4
68
70
138
T37
Justin Walters *
-4
67
71
138
T44
Ashley Chesters *
-3
71
68
139
T44
Ben Evans *
-3
71
68
139
T44
Jens Fahrbring *
-3
72
67
139
T44
Darren Fichardt *
-3
69
70
139
T44
Grant Forrest *
-3
73
66
139
T44
Rikard Karlberg *
-3
71
68
139
T44
Joost Luiten *
-3
70
69
139
T44
Kyong-Jun Moon *
-3
70
69
139
T44
Damien Perrier *
-3
68
71
139
T44
Benjamin Poke *
-3
69
70
139
T44
Garrick Porteous *
-3
71
68
139
T44
JC Ritchie *
-3
69
70
139
T44
Marcel Schneider *
-3
70
69
139
T44
Robin Sciot-Siegrist *
-3
73
66
139
T44
Scott Vincent *
-3
68
71
139
T59
Richard Bland *
-2
71
69
140
T59
John Catlin *
-2
71
69
140
T59
Aaron Cockerill *
-2
71
69
140
T59
Louis De Jager *
-2
70
70
140
T59
Matt Ford *
-2
68
72
140
T59
Lorenzo Gagli *
-2
70
70
140
T59
Julien Guerrier *
-2
70
70
140
T59
Gregory Havret *
-2
67
73
140
T59
Maximilian Kieffer *
-2
68
72
140
T59
Jacques Kruyswijk *
-2
68
72
140
T59
Ondrej Lieser (a) *
-2
72
68
140
T59
Richard McEvoy *
-2
70
70
140
T59
Samuel Njoroge Chege *
-2
72
68
140
T59
Haydn Porteous *
-2
70
70
140
T59
Lorenzo Scalise *
-2
72
68
140
T59
Lee Slattery *
-2
71
69
140
T59
Toby Tree *
-2
67
73
140
T59
Romain Wattel *
-2
69
71
140
T59
Darius van Driel *
-2
69
71
140
T78
Wil Besseling *
-1
72
69
141
T78
Jorge Campillo
-1
73
68
141
T78
Dave Coupland
-1
67
74
141
T78
Emilio Cuartero Blanco
-1
74
67
141
T78
Ooko Erick Obura *
-1
69
72
141
T78
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño *
-1
70
71
141
T78
Daan Huizing
-1
70
71
141
T78
Jazz Janewattananond
-1
70
71
141
T78
Alexander Levy *
-1
74
67
141
T78
Jose-Filipe Lima
-1
71
70
141
T78
Carlos Pigem
-1
69
72
141
T78
Kristoffer Reitan *
-1
72
69
141
T78
Max Schmitt
-1
73
68
141
T78
Sebastian Soderberg
-1
70
71
141
T78
Daniel van Tonder *
-1
74
67
141
T93
Marcus Armitage
E
69
73
142
T93
Steven Brown *
E
69
73
142
T93
Robson Chinhoi *
E
67
75
142
T93
David Drysdale *
E
72
70
142
T93
Anthony Juma
E
70
72
142
T93
Masahiro Kawamura
E
74
68
142
T93
David Law
E
72
70
142
T93
Tae Hee Lee *
E
69
73
142
T93
Edoardo Molinari
E
73
69
142
T93
James Morrison
E
71
71
142
T93
Chris Paisley
E
75
67
142
T93
Matthieu Pavon
E
73
69
142
T93
Cormac Sharvin *
E
70
72
142
T93
David Wakhu
E
75
67
142
T107
Sihwan Kim *
1
72
71
143
T107
Taimur Malik *
1
69
74
143
T107
Richard Mansell (a)
1
72
71
143
T107
Tapio Pulkkanen *
1
72
71
143
T107
Shubhankar Sharma *
1
73
70
143
T107
Julian Suri *
1
66
77
143
T113
Maverick Antcliff
2
74
70
144
T113
Jonathan Caldwell *
2
72
72
144
T113
Rhys Enoch
2
67
77
144
T113
Oliver Farr *
2
68
76
144
T113
Ewen Ferguson *
2
71
73
144
T113
David Howell
2
68
76
144
T113
Liam Johnston
2
73
71
144
T113
Hurly Long (a)
2
73
71
144
T113
Simon Ngige Mburu *
2
72
72
144
T113
Alvaro Quiros
2
72
72
144
T113
Greg Snow
2
71
73
144
T113
Clement Sordet
2
74
70
144
T113
Joel Stalter *
2
71
73
144
T126
Alejandro Cañizares *
3
73
72
145
T126
Yi Keun Chang
3
73
72
145
T126
Tyler Koivisto *
3
77
68
145
T126
Robin Roussel
3
68
77
145
T126
Adrien Saddier *
3
71
74
145
T131
SSP Chawrasia
4
74
72
146
T131
Nicolai Højgaard
4
74
72
146
T131
Dismas Indiza Anyonyi *
4
76
70
146
T131
Anton Karlsson
4
73
73
146
T131
Joakim Lagergren
4
73
73
146
T131
Cj Wangai
4
73
73
146
T137
Mathiam Keyser *
5
72
75
147
T137
Ross McGowan *
5
77
70
147
T137
Jaydeep Singh Sandhu
5
73
74
147
T140
Lucas Bjerregaard
6
76
72
148
T140
Oliver Fisher
6
73
75
148
T140
Edwin Inana Asuza *
6
73
75
148
T140
Jastas Madoya Asena *
6
73
75
148
T140
Jacob Okello *
6
72
76
148
T145
Pedro Figueiredo *
7
75
74
149
T145
Andrew Oche Odoh
7
75
74
149
147
Phillip Kasozi *
9
72
79
151
T148
Gavin Moynihan
10
77
75
152
T148
Isaac Ogolla Makokha *
10
75
77
152
150
Victor Joseph
11
74
79
153
151
Paul Musangi Njuguna
12
76
78
154
T152
Riz Charania *
13
79
76
155
T152
Mathew Omondi
13
80
75
155
154
Adel Balala
14
81
75
156
WD
Haotong Li
5
75
5
80
WD
Zander Lombard
11
82
82
* Player started on the back nine
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