Madoya shifts focus to Nyali Open after home win
Home player, Jastas Madoya, true to his word, played an impressive four rounds of golf to clinch the sixth leg of Safari Tour series after returning a score of three over par 287 on the tough Great Rift Valley Lodge.
Although he was disappointed that he did not win with an under par score that he had targeted, Madoya believes his win gives him momentum going into the three remaining legs of the Safari Tour, which is the qualifying series to the Magical Kenya Open.
“I began the competition well with a four under par 67 in round one. After that I picked so many bogeys in hole seven and the last four holes of the course.
I knew they were tough holes and had practised my approach on each hole many times but they still got me.
I dropped six shots on hole 15 alone which is a long par three. It is a tough course and one can tell that going by the scores the other golfers posted.
The cut point was 13 over par, for instance, that shows just how tough the course is,” said Madoya.
Starting the final round just a shot better than Uganda’s Abbey Bagalana, Madoya, pushed his tee shot to the right on the first hole, chipped out well but missed the par.
He, however, picked birdies on the fifth and sixth holes, but dropped a shot at the seventh, to level the nine.
It was at the back nine where Madoya ran into trouble at the par three 15th. He had planned to lay-up, but instead pulled his shot to the left bush and had to go back to the tee, ending up with a double-bogey. He picked another bogey at hole 18 for a two over par 73.
“In the final round I was sure I would play under par as I was at one under after 14 holes.
The last four got me and I ended up posting two over. Playing at home has the pressure of wanting to impress the home fans but I fed on their energy to keep going even when my concentration would fail me,” Madoya said.
