Kenya’s John Wangai and Erick Ooko fought hard to share third place in a strong four-way battle with 3-under par 69 gross each with South Africans Haydn Porteous and Travis Procter after round one.

This is in the ongoing SportsBiz Africa golf championship, the fifth leg of the Sunshine Development Tour-East Africa Swing at the Kigali Golf Resort & Villas in Rwanda on Wednesday.

Wangai, who teed off 10th, opened his round with steady pars before hitting a birdie on the 17th, though he dropped a shot on the 18th. On the back nine, he surged forward with three consecutive birdies on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd holes, adding further birdies on the 6th and 9th, though bogeys on the 7th and 8th kept him just shy of the leaders.

"The day was very good. I started calm and steady, just rolling in pars until hole 17 when I made my first birdie. I dropped a bogey on 18 but brushed it off, knowing I had nine more holes to play. On the back nine, I got going with three straight birdies on the first three holes, and that gave me a real push to finish at 3-under. I’m happy with my start and ready for round two," said Wangai. 

Ooko and Procter each combined consistent birdies with safe play to also finish on 3-under par and remain within touching distance of the leaders.

Porteous, a two-time DP World Tour champion and winner of the 2015 Kenya Open, carded birdies on the 1st, 3rd, and 7th, offset by a single bogey on the 5th. He added another birdie on the 13th and parred his way home to keep himself firmly in contention.

"I drove quite nicely and hit a lot of greens. Unfortunately, the one green I missed ended up being a bogey, but overall, I’m pretty happy with how I played. I probably would have liked to have made more putts, but that’s golf, tomorrow is another opportunity," said Porteous after his round. 

Rwanda’s Celestin Nsanzuwera and Zimbabwe’s Visitor Mapwanya shared the day’s lead with 4-under par 68 gross. Nsanzuwera, playing under the weight of home expectations, produced a composed round of 4-under par 68. He opened with a birdie on the first hole but immediately dropped a shot on the second. By Maarufu Mohamed | The Standard