Sunshine Tour day 3: Lejirma reclaims leaderboard, Nsanzuwera closes in

Royal Nairobi Golf Club player John Lejirma in action on the third day of the Sunshine Development Tour Qualifying School at the Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort in Naivasha on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. [PHOTO/ SUNSHINE TOUR]

The battle for the prestigious 10 slots for the Sunshine Tour Final Qualifiers slated for Johannesburg, South Africa, next week will heat up at the Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort in Naivasha on Thursday.

John Lejirma of Royal Nairobi Golf Club heads to the Naivasha finale of the four-day Sunshine Development Tour Qualifying School, perched at the top, having reclaimed his driving seat after carding four under par 67 for a total of three rounds of six under par 207.

Lejirma displaced Windsor's Njoroge Kibugu, who had eclipsed him from the apex on Tuesday when the axe fell on 20 who failed to go past the projected cut of +18.

Njoroge had a tough time on the course on Wednesday, dropping to tenth after ending the day on +8/221.

Rwandese Celestin Nsanzuwera of Kigali Golf Resort and Villas seems to be a dark horse in the race after firing -4/67 to climb from sixth to second on Wednesday, where he is now resting on a total of three rounds of -2/211.

Another greatest surprise on the Wednesday's showdown was Kakamega Golf Club veteran player Dismas Indiza, who moved from ninth to third on +2/215, displacing Muthaiga's Greg Snow, who had camped at the location in the opening two rounds.

Edwin Mudanyi of Karen still maintains his fifth-place position on the log on +3/216 going into Thursday's final.

"It feels great to reclaim the leaderboard. It has been a bit of a grind. Today, I had a positive feeling. I felt more in control of the game.I stuck to my strategy and game plan. I made better decisions on the course. I had some great passes that rolled well as opposed to the other days," Lejirma told Standard Sports.

Lejirma admitted he has pressure to perform on the final day.

"The competition is not always guaranteed until the last minute, so I'll keep on with my strategy of keeping the ball in play and trusting the process."

Lejirma thanked the green keepers at the Great Rift Valley Lodge course for doing an amazing job to ensure the greens and fairways are playing well.

Nsanzuwera said he had a good game plan on Wednesday that propelled him to second.

"My putting was good. My course management was top-notch. My shots were better today. I'm happy with where I'm now lying ahead of the final," Nsanzuwera said.

Sunshine Development Tour day 3 Results 1.John Lejirma - 6/207

1. John Lejirma - 6/207
2. Celestin Nsanzuwera (Rwanda) - 2/211
3. Dismas Indiza +2/215
4. Greg Snow +2/215
5. Edwin Mudanyi +3/216
6. Samuel Chege +5/218
7. Jastas Madoya +6/219
8. Erick Ooko +7/220
9. Daniel Nduva +8/221
10. Njoroge Kibugu +8/221