Tournament: Magical Kenya Open presented by absa
Race to Dubai: Tournament 12 of 44 events
The International Swing: Tournament 6 of 8 events
Venue: Muthaiga Golf Club, Nairobi, Kenya
Prize Fund: $2,500,000
Hashtag: #MKO2024 #DPWT

Round Two Report

Tapio Pulkkanen, Connor Syme and Darius van Driel share a one-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the Magical Kenya Open presented by absa.

Dutchman van Driel, the overnight leader, set the clubhouse target of seven under par, following up his five under par first round at Muthaiga Golf Club with a two under 69. He was then joined on that number by Finland’s Tapio Pulkannen after he fired a three under par 68.

Scotland’s Syme made it a three-way tie for the lead in the afternoon after he also carded a three under 68, finishing with an eagle on the 18th hole.

The trio, each going in search of a maiden DP World Tour victory, are closely followed by a bunched leaderboard, with 12 players sitting within two strokes.

Four competitors share second place on six under par, with Spaniard Elvira carding a five under par 66 to move up the leaderboard. He is joined by Scotsman Ewen Ferguson, England’s Sam Hutsby and Italy’s Lorenzo Scalise.

Player Quotes

Tapio Pulkkanen: “Very solid round. I played a lot of irons off the tee, same as yesterday. I think the course played similar to the first day: same wind direction, firm greens. I played well.

“It was really important, especially from the first bogey I made on three, to get the round going and make two birdies after that. A solid round.

“I think the seventh hole – that’s a tee shot I don’t like. A lot of guys hit driver off there and I hit two iron the first day and four iron today, played it as a three-shot par five and tried to make birdie that way. That’s a tough hole.”

Connor Syme: “Pretty pleased. Actually didn’t putt as well as I did yesterday but I felt like I played a little bit better today. It was nice to get a bonus eagle at the last to cap off a solid round of golf.

“I think my driving overall…it’s always awkward to hit so many fairways around here because they are very tight and bouncy. But I drove it pretty well and gave myself chances to get it close to some of the pins. I scramble well when I needed to, there were a couple on the back nine where I kept momentum going to give me an opportunity to do that one on the last.”

Darius van Driel: “It was a bit more difficult, more wind and it was a bit colder – but still a good score. I was (patient). I missed a couple of short putts for birdie though, but you know there are some chances out there and some tough holes as well. Overall, if you shoot a score under par, that’s good.

“The heat makes the ball a little bit further, now it’s cooler you wonder what it’s going to do. Is it going to affect your ball into the wind? Of course, downwind it still goes. It’s not a fun day to be a caddie.”

Scores after Round Two:
 135 D VAN DRIEL (NED) 66 69, T PULKKANEN (FIN) 67 68, C SYME (SCO) 67 68, 
 136 E FERGUSON (SCO) 69 67, M ELVIRA (ESP) 70 66, S HUTSBY (ENG) 69 67, L SCALISE (ITA) 68 68, 
 137 L DE JAGER (RSA) 70 67, J DEAN (ENG) 68 69, J SVENSSON (SWE) 68 69, C HOWIE (SCO) 68 69, T LEWIS (ENG) 71 66, L VACARISAS (ESP) 69 68, D GERMISHUYS (RSA) 71 66, F LACROIX (FRA) 67 70, 
 138 N ELVIRA (ESP) 69 69, A CHESTERS (ENG) 69 69, R VAN VELZEN (RSA) 67 71, N VON DELLINGSHAUSEN (GER) 70 68, S JONES (NZL) 68 70, J G?TH-RASMUSSEN (DEN) 68 70, 
 139 M ARMITAGE (ENG) 69 70, A OTAEGUI (ESP) 69 70, J KO (FRA) 72 67, R NEERGAARD-PETERSEN (DEN) 69 70, J BERRY (ENG) 70 69, I CANTERO (ESP) 69 70, Y SCHUETZ (GER) 67 72, A DEL REY (ESP) 71 68, M SCHNEIDER (GER) 71 68, M JORDAN (ENG) 74 65, E MOLINARI (ITA) 71 68, P MOOLMAN (RSA) 68 71, J SURI (USA) 71 68, J KRUYSWIJK (RSA) 70 69, D HUIZING (NED) 67 72, 
 140 A SADDIER (FRA) 69 71, D RAVETTO (FRA) 72 68, G GREEN (MAS) 69 71, M SCHWAB (AUT) 69 71, T LAWRENCE (RSA) 70 70, D YOUNG (SCO) 68 72, J PARRY (ENG) 69 71, J MOSCATEL (ESP) 69 71, 
 141 J RUTHERFORD (ENG) 72 69, M KINHULT (SWE) 70 71, S TARRIO (ESP) 69 72, R GOUVEIA (POR) 70 71, H BARRON (AUS) 72 69, B RUSCH (SUI) 72 69, A FITZPATRICK (ENG) 70 71, C JARVIS (RSA) 69 72, N GALLETTI (USA) 69 72, K APHIBARNRAT (THA) 74 67, E PEPPERELL (ENG) 70 71, R HOSHINO (JPN) 70 71, T AIKEN (RSA) 71 70, O CHOUHAN (IND) 70 71, A SULLIVAN (ENG) 70 71, P KATICH (GER) 71 70, J CATLIN (USA) 69 72, G PORTEOUS (ENG) 73 68, J NICHOLAS (USA) 72 69, 
 142 S FRIEDRICHSEN (DEN) 76 66, A WU (CHN) 73 69, J GIRRBACH (SUI) 69 73, F SCHOTT (GER) 73 69, S BROWN (ENG) 72 70, A COCKERILL (CAN) 70 72, B FOLLETT-SMITH (ZIM) 69 73, R RUGUMAYO (UGA) 72 70, 
 143 J DONALDSON (WAL) 73 70, O FARR (WAL) 71 72, D FRITTELLI (RSA) 72 71, M BESARD (BEL) 72 71, J GOUGH (ENG) 75 68, A HIDALGO (ESP) 69 74, P BOVARI (ITA) 70 73, A GARCIA-HEREDIA (ESP) 74 69, J BRUN (FRA) 73 70, 
 144 R LANGASQUE (FRA) 71 73, J GUMBERG (USA) 70 74, A BLOMME (SWE) 73 71, C SORDET (FRA) 71 73, N BACHEM (GER) 72 72, D INDIZA ANYONYI (KEN) 74 70, G BOYD (ENG) 75 69, D MOSTERT (RSA) 73 71, W NIENABER (RSA) 75 69, 
 145 T VAILLANT (FRA) 73 72, D LAW (SCO) 72 73, J BLIXT (SWE) 72 73, N KIBUGU (KEN) 71 74, S MANLEY (WAL) 73 72, J WANG (KOR) 78 67, F KENNEDY (ENG) 70 75, J DAVIDSON (WAL) 75 70, A LEVY (FRA) 72 73, S SHARMA (IND) 71 74, M QUIROS (ESP) 75 70, 
 146 O WILSON (ENG) 75 71, L VAN MEIJEL (NED) 73 73, T POWER HORAN (AUS) 75 71, M KARANGA (AM) (KEN) 75 71, D HORSEY (ENG) 72 74, C MCKINNEY (AUS) 71 75, G MIGLIOZZI (ITA) 70 76, M KAWAMURA (JPN) 69 77, A WILSON (ENG) 74 72, J AXELSEN (DEN) 74 72, 
 147 F CELLI (ITA) 72 75, S GARCIA (ESP) 72 75, S BAIRSTOW (ENG) 73 74, O BEKKER (RSA) 71 76, S FORSSTR?M (SWE) 71 76, 
 148 M KIBUGU (KEN) 76 72, A PAVAN (ITA) 71 77, K HIGA (JPN) 76 72, 
 149 J DE BRUYN (GER) 78 71, W ENEFER (ENG) 77 72, M KIEFFER (GER) 74 75, B THORNBERRY (USA) 73 76, 
 150 P FIGUEIREDO (POR) 76 74, S BROHOLT LIND (DEN) 76 74, G SNOW (KEN) 71 79, J WALTERS (RSA) 75 75, V MAPWANYA (ZIM) 73 77, 
 151 J HARDING (RSA) 79 72, R ENOCH (WAL) 74 77, C PURCELL (IRL) 74 77, R PARATORE (ITA) 73 78, J LEJIRMA (AM) (KEN) 78 73, J MADOYA (KEN) 73 78, 
 152 D NDUVA (KEN) 74 78, 
 153 L RUUSKA (FIN) 76 77, 
 154 S NJOROGE (KEN) 77 77, M MEDIRATTA (KEN) 77 77, 
 155 D KAMULINDWA (UGA) 76 79, M WARREN (SCO) 77 78, 
 159 I MAKOKHA (AM) (KEN) 81 78, 
 160 M KISIA (KEN) 74 86, 
 162 J RONO (AM) (KEN) 80 82, 
 **
 OUT K JOHANNESSEN (NOR) RT , H LONG (GER) RT