Seve Benson’s level par second round of 71 was enough to give him the clubhouse lead at five under par on the second day of the Barclays Kenya Open.
The Englishman, out in the second group, found it tougher going at Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi, and his four birdies and four bogeys meant he failed to make ground on overnight leader Morten Orum Madsen, who shot 64 in the first round and was in the afternoon groups on day two.
“It was a mixed round - some good and some bad,” said Benson, a two time Challenge Tour winner. “I really didn’t sleep well last night and probably only got about four hours, so I was shattered this morning when I teed off.
“I made a shocking start with bogeys at the first, sixth and seventh, but I managed to make up for it a bit on the back nine and get back to level par.
“It was just a question of hanging in there, and I managed to hole some nice putts. It felt like the course was playing longer today because it was colder and there was no wind, so it was tricky. It’ll be interesting to see if anyone goes low this afternoon. I’m in a decent position and overall I’m pretty happy with the start I’ve made.”
Overnight leader Madsen reached eight under with a birdie at his first hole – the par five tenth – thanks to a superb second shot from heavy rough on the left which just cleared the water in front of the green.
There were some low scores in the morning but most were coming from further down the leaderboard, with local man Stefan Engell Anderson signing for a four under par 67 to move to one under for the tournament. Young Swede Jens Dantorp matched that score to also move to one under.
