South Africa’s Louis de Jager played a round of 5-under par 66 during the second round of the 2019 Magical Kenya Open, to storm to the top of the leader board, with a total score of 12-under par.
Louis, who started the round sharing the lead with England’s Jack Singh Brar on 7-under par, wasted no time in making his intentions clear.
Starting from the 10th tee, the South African started his round with back to back birdies, on the par-4, tenth and par-5, eleventh, following these up with further birdies on the 13th and 18th to finish his first nine without dropping a shot for a half way score of 4-under par, 32.
His next nine holes offered a stiffer challenge, as he dropped a couple of shots at the par-3, second and par-4, fifth. He would however recover well with a birdies on the third, sixth and ninth holes for a round score of 5-under par and a total score of 12-under par after the two rounds played. Four strokes ahead of Jack Singh Brar and Spain’s Adri Arnaus who are tied for second slot.
Jack lost his grip on top spot after playing a round of one-under par, 70 following two bogeys and three birdies, with Arnaus shooting a round of 3-under par on the day to follow up his 5-under par score in the first round.
De Jagger was delighted with his start and mentioned that he was getting used to the feel of the course as it was very similar to the conditions in South Africa.
“I started off birdie-birdie and it got me in the right mindset for the round, I kept it going, kept it on the fairways, kept hitting the greens and made a few putts,” he said.
“I am getting used to the feel of the Kikuyu grass and the ball travels the same as back home in Pretoria, distance wise, so it really feels like we’re back home.
“My game plan is not too aggressive. The most important thing is hitting the fairways and hitting the greens because the greens are quite small. If you hit the greens you’ve always got a good birdie chance.”
Among the notable absentees are the 2018 Kenya Open winner Lorenzo Gagli, who played a round of 1-over par to take his total score to 3-over par. Others are Korean internet sensation Hu Sung Choi and Kenya’s Dismas Indiza and Greg Snow.