The second day of the Magical Kenya Open has been twisted, especially for the afternoon shift. The wind, today indeed, has blown quite strongly. Fallen leaves from the trees crossed the narrow greens of the Muthaiga Golf Club like tumbleweeds in an old American western town just before a duel. At full speed and with impunity. Everything was difficult. Hitting the fairway from the tee was complicated by the influence of the air and increasingly harder fairways. Hitting the greens, more of the same. And putting was a really delicate mission. With the wind at your back and downhill, it was chaos…
Of the top thirteen players, only three played this afternoon. A considerable difference. No doubt about it. There was a bad shift, although if you ask John Parry (-14), his answer would probably be something like: “What what what?”. The Englishman, winner in Mauritius just before Christmas, nailed it. He thrives in difficult conditions. He signed a round of 65 strokes, the second-best of the day playing in the worst conditions, we insist. Only Connor Syme, with 64 strokes in the morning, surpassed him.
Parry has 36 holes without bogeys in Kenya. This statistic is crazy. No one has adapted better than him to the inscrutable grass of Nairobi. It’s true that he hits many greens, but he has recovered like an angel those he missed. That’s the big difference. Of course, the putt is also in full swing. The back nine, with a score of -12, are like his backyard. As it stands, we have a head-to-head between Parry and Hebert, at least for now because we’ll see if things change tomorrow on moving day. The third place is already five behind Parry and four behind Hebert, held by the young Jayden Schaper (-9). The fourth place is at -8 and the top 10 closes with six under par, eight off the lead. It’s not definitive, but it’s a good margin.
Precisely, on the verge of the top 10 is Albert Boneta (-5). Fantastic round from the young golfer from Barcelona. He signed a card of 68 strokes. Only Parry and Thomas Aiken, who shot 67, were better than him in the afternoon. It’s Albert’s first cut on the DP World Tour. He achieves it on the fourth attempt. No one will have to explain to him what it means to play a weekend in the first division. As a good thoroughbred golfer, one who doesn’t forgive a stroke, he has raised the bar in the most difficult conditions and with a complicated start to the round. Very early, with two bogeys on holes 13 and 14, he went over par with the cut breathing down his neck.
Far from being intimidated, Boneta brought out the best within him. He changed the pace on holes 17 and 18. He linked a birdie and an eagle and caught his breath. From there, a bogey on 1 and two very good consecutive birdies on holes 4 and 5. Additionally, he managed to save 6 and 8, two of the most challenging at Muthaiga. Making the cut in a European Tour tournament is already a task ticked off his list.
With 36 holes ahead, the only way is up. It’s undeniable that the lead is very far, but the fourth place is only three away. Something that applies to Boneta, Jorge Campillo (-5), who played in the morning, and the rest of the Spaniards who made the cut. Up to nine: Nacho Elvira (-4), Adri Arnaus (-4), Eugenio Chacarra (-4), Ángel Ayora (-3), Joel Moscatel (-2), Santi Tarrio (-1) and Manu Elvira (PAR).
