Greg Snow takes opening round lead in Limuru

Muthaiga professional Greg Snow carded an opening-round score of 6-under par to take the early lead at the eighth leg of the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing, which teed off Sunday at Limuru Country Club.

Snow produced a composed round marked by birdies on the 3rd, 8th, 9th, 10th, 13th and 14th holes, dropping his only shot of the day on the par-4 7th. His 66 placed him at the top of a competitive leaderboard heading into Monday’s second round.

Speaking after his round, Snow said, “It was a solid day. I stuck to my plan, kept the ball on the fairway and gave myself enough chances. The course is soft, so you really have to be precise with approach shots. I’m happy with how I putted, and the goal now is just to stay patient and keep the momentum going into Round Two.”

Elite amateur Michael Karanga and veteran professional Dismas Indiza closed the day tied for second on 5-under par. Karanga produced one of the strongest rounds of the morning, with birdies on the 1st, 8th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 15th holes, offset by a lone bogey on the 7th.

Speaking after his round, Karanga said he was pleased with his start despite the wet conditions, adding that his plan for Round Two is to keep improving his putting, particularly on the front nine. “I started very well and I’m happy with how I played today. Despite the rain, the course was good, and I hit my fairways and made good putts. Tomorrow my focus is on working harder on my putting, especially on the front nine. The plan is to keep pushing strong.”

Indiza, representing Kakamega Sports Club, also put together a solid 67, registering birdies on the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 9th, 17th and 18th holes. His only dropped shot came at the 16th.

Several players closed the day at 3-under par, including Sigona’s John Wangai, Rwanda’s Celestin Nsanzuwera, and Limuru’s own John Karichu.

Wangai began strongly with a birdie on the 2nd and an eagle on the 3rd, before bogeying the 4th. On the back nine, he added a birdie on the 15th and dropped a shot on the 17th to finish on 69.

Nsanzuwera started with consecutive birdies on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd holes, before giving back a shot on the 4th. He added another birdie on the 6th and posted two more changes on the back nine, picking up a birdie on the 12th and dropping one on the 13th.

He said his round showed good control and that his focus on Monday will be maintaining consistency off the tee.

Karichu, playing on his home course, recorded birdies on the 2nd and 3rd before a bogey on the 4th. He strengthened his round on the back nine with birdies on the 11th, 13th and 18th, dropping one shot on the 12th to close with a 69.

The Masters has attracted 88 players from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi, India and the United States. They are competing for a share of the KSh 2 million prize purse, along with Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) points, and Safari Tour Order of Merit points that contribute toward qualification for the 2026 Magical Kenya Open.

Round Two will be played on Monday, after which the top 30 players and ties will advance to Tuesday’s final round.