Greg Snow will carry the hopes of a nation this weekend at the Barclays Kenya Open as the young Nairobi native aims to become the first home winner in the tournament’s long history after moving to within two shots of the lead on day two at Karen Country Club.
The 23 year old, who plays out of Muthaiga Golf Club – one of the traditional venues on this tournament’s roster - carded six birdies on the way to a four under par 68 which moved him to six under par alongside four others, two shots off the summit.
There will undoubtedly be much excitement over Snow’s hopes at a tournament which always attracts big crowds but may well see a spike in attendance this weekend as the home spectators urge him on.
While he has been in a similar position before in this tournament, Snow admitted that he has not always handled the pressure too well, but thinks those experiences will stand to him this weekend as he chases down Alvaro Velasco’s lead.
“I didn’t deal with the pressure very well last year but this year I'm just going to try and block out everything and just enjoy it.
“At your home tournament they fans are all going to come out if you play well so it’s very encouraging.
“I played really good today, he continued. “I gave myself chances and I made a few more putts today. I had a couple of bogeys in there but I played really solid from tee to green.
“I held a few putts and the greens were quite receptive this morning. It was a bit easier today, especially on the greens because of the rain last night, they were a bit softer so I could go for some pins that I didn’t go for in the first day.
“I think it’s going to firm up tomorrow and play like it did the first day. I had to take advantage of the better conditions today to try and get up the leaderboard so I'm delighted I did just that.”
