Dismas Indiza stopped Zimbabwe danger man Robson Chinhoi on the fourth playoff hole to clinch the ninth leg of the Safari Tour and the 2020/21 Safari Tour overall title in a day full of drama at Karen Country Club.
After overturning a three shot deficit in the day’s final round, Indiza lost the first playoff hole when he failed to match Chinhoi’s birdie. The red-hot duo went on to par the second playoff hole before Indiza evened matters with a tap-in birdie after Chinhoi narrowly missed his birdie opportunity that would have put the game to bed. It was now time for a sudden-death shootout.
Full of adrenalin, both players failed to find the green with excellent tee shots, Chinhoi perfectly positioned on the fairway 10 yards off the green while Indiza’s ball lay dangerously behind the left side bunker. In a moment of magic, Indiza executed an exquisite downhill chip leaving the ball less than a foot to the pin for a routine tap-in. Chinhoi followed suit but his chip was short by about three feet. In a rare show of panic, the Zimbabwean missed the putt, to gift Indiza the title.
“Clearly today was not my day. Today I have endured several streaks of bad luck and bad breaks on the green. Credit to Indiza for pushing me all the way. He deserves the title. He worked very hard today and he has been rewarded accordingly. There’s no shame in losing to a better opponent,” summed up Chinhoi who shot two under par 69 today for -14 gross score.
There was no doubt that the Chinhoi-Indiza duel would be action-packed. Starting the day three shots behind Chinhoi, Indiza took the challenge seriously from the word go and cut the deficit to two shots on the front nine. He continued to lurk dangerously behind the Zimbabwean waiting for the opportune moment to pounce.
A momentary set back on the par three 14th hole where he carded a bogey, seemingly drained by Chinhoi’s eagle on the par five 12th hole threatened to derail Indiza’s challenge. But he was soon gifted the opportunity to reduce the deficit when Chinhoi bogeyed the 15th and 16th holes. And he went for the kill on the 17th hole with a timely birdie to level scores as the two players went on to complete the round tied on -14, Indiza having carded five under par 66.
“My game was near-perfect today. I only messed up on one hole but luckily I stayed focused throughout the round knowing what was at stake. I knew a three shot lead in golf is not insurmountable,” said Indiza who finished second last week after losing the playoff to Mohit Mediratta.
The win earned Indiza Kshs 375,000 and the top spot on the Order of Merit ahead of Chinhoi and defending champion Greg Snow who missed the cut.
Simon Ngige finished third after a round of one under par 70 earned him a fourth place on the Order of Merit ahead of David Wakhu, Eric Ooko and John Wangai. Others who finished in the top ten in the Order of Merit to clinch the Magical Kenya Open slots include Samuel Njoroge, Justus Madoya and Edwin Mudanyi. Rizwan Charania, Mathew Omondi and Jacob Okello earned their Kenya Open slots on Tour final day
The three non-Kenyan players slot went to Chinhoi, Nigeria’s Andrew Odoh and Uganda’s Philip Kasozi.
LEADERBOARD ON DAY 4
Dismas Indiza -14 375,000
Robson Chinhoi -14 250,000
Simon Ngige -8 200,000
Andrew Odoh -5 187,500
Visitor Mapwanya -4 175,000
David Wakhu -1 162,500
C.J Wangai 1 150,000
Rizwan Charania 2 131,250
Samuel Njoroge 4 106,250
Ronald Rugumayo 4 106,250
Sullivan Muthugia 5 84,375
Erick Ooko 5 84,375
Dennis Saikwa 5 84,375
Anthony Juma 5 84,375
Abbey Bagalana 7 68,750
Jastas Madoya 8 59,375
Edwin Inana 8 59,375
Victor Kachepatsonga 13 50,000
Philip Kasozi 14 43,750
Mohit Mediratta 15 31,250
Jacob Okello 15 31,250
