Alvaro Velasco maintained his lead at the Barclays Kenya Open midway through the second day, but he had his room-mate and the tournament’s defending champion Jordi Garcia Pinto, as well as local favourite Greg Snow, breathing down his neck at Karen Country Club.
The Spaniard held the overnight lead courtesy of an opening 66 and he followed that up with a two under par 70 on day two to move to eight under for the tournament.
That left him two shots clear of Pinto and Nairobi native Snow, who shared second place on six under par with the afternoon groups yet to finish their rounds.
“To be honest I didn’t sleep much last night and I am one of those people who needs a lot of sleep,” said the 32 year old. “I was a bit tired today but it was alright.
“I'm happy with my round. I know I could have shot a little bit lower but 70 is a good score. My game wasn’t as sharp today but my putting was good and I felt confident on the greens so I'm happy with that.
“I have confidence from the last few months, I have been practicing really well, and now a good start to the first tournament. My game is good, my putter is working nicely so I'm pretty confident going into the weekend.
“It would mean a lot to win this but I don’t want to think about it too much. There are only two days left but it would be really nice to get the job done, for me and for everyone I have worked with recently.”
