Kenya maintains grip at the Region IV championships in Ethiopia

Kenya could be on their way to winning a second Africa Region IV Golf Championship after they opened a 15-stroke lead going into the final round of the event at the Addis Ababa Golf Course in Ethiopia on Friday.

The defending champions have been trailing Uganda by 7 strokes after the first round, engaged top gear, and took a firm grip of the top spot from the second round and are now 15 strokes ahead of second-placed Uganda, going into the last round on Saturday.

Michael Karanga led Kenya with a two-under 69, having notched an eagle on the par-5 hole one before subsequent birdies on holes two and three, all par-fours, in addition to 13 pars to set the pace for his side.

John Lejirma and Dennis Maara with one-under 70 and one-over 72 were Kenya’s other scorers in the round where they built an 11-stroke advantage over their nearest rivals Uganda, who did not have any of their scorers playing under par.

Uganda’s scorers on the day included Joseph Akena who returned one-over 72, with Ibrahim Bagalana and Godfrey Nsubuga carding 75 each for the day’s total of 222 to Kenya’s 211.

Rwanda maintained the third spot, 27 strokes behind Uganda while hosts Ethiopia also remained fourth, in the fourth edition of the event that attracted five countries including Tanzania who are fifth.

Standings after the third round

Kenya 229 214 211 654

Uganda 222 225 222 669

Ethiopia 239 235 228 696

Rwanda 246 222 224 698

Tanzania 241 239 242 722