Staff WriterIf the opening day is anything to go by, the Kenya Open has absolutely no intention of easing anyone into the season gently. Karen Country Club was turned into a dartboard on Thursday as South Africa’s Casey Jarvis and Sweden’s Niklas Lemke both signed for sizzling 62s to share the first-round lead, one shot clear of a chasing pack that looks far too talented to stay quiet for long.
Jarvis needed 10 birdies to get there. Lemke didn’t bother with bogeys at all. Between them, they turned a charming, old-school layout into something that looked suspiciously like a pitch-and-putt for touring professionals with too much confidence and not enough respect for par.
Lemke’s clinic: old school, no bogeys, and a tap-in eagle
Lemke was first to post 62, and for a while it looked like he might have broken the place. The 41-year-old Swede put together the kind of bogey-free round that makes fellow pros stare at the leaderboard like it’s a typo.
After two birdies on the front nine, he started to really enjoy himself coming home, picking off shots at the 10th, 12th, 14th and 16th before setting up a tap-in eagle to close out a round that would make most of us retire our clubs and take up knitting.
“I think I’ve shot eight-under before but not a 62, so I’m pleased with that. It was a nice way to finish. I played fairly solid the whole day. I started off a little so-so, but I found my golf striking on the back nine, so it was a good day,” said Lemke.
Karen clearly fits his eye, and he sounds almost suspiciously happy about it.
“I like these kinds of golf courses. They are a little short, old school, tricky. You have to think your way around it a little bit. I enjoy being here.
It’s tricky (the altitude). We’re starting off at 10 percent, and you have to work yourself off that. The wind is what’s doing the trick here – how much the wind is going to affect it. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s a little bit of a guessing game out there as well.”
Short, old school, tricky, windy, and at altitude – and he shoots 62. Some guessing game.
Jarvis answers with ten birdies and zero fear
If Lemke’s effort was the morning benchmark, Jarvis spent the afternoon proving the Kenya Open isn’t just a Scandinavian showcase. The 22-year-old South African started with a bogey and then, apparently offended by the whole idea of dropping shots, went on a rampage.
He birdied six of his next seven holes to turn in 30, then kept his foot down on the back nine. Another birdie at the 10th was cancelled out by a bogey at 13, but his response said everything you need to know about his mindset: birdie-birdie on 14 and 15, and another at the last to tie Lemke at ten under.
“I’m super pleased with the round. I started off with a bogey and thought it wasn’t going to be the best day, but I turned it around pretty quickly and I’m pleased with what I shot.
I came into the week saying I should be really aggressive, and I think I was pretty aggressive off the tees. I hit the driver nicely and I took advantage of that.
Around a course like this, I think if you’re on with your driver, you can shoot pretty low. I think being aggressive on a course like this does suit me in a way.
It’s tough to look ahead of what can happen, so I just stay present and in the moment. Whatever happens, happens.”
Aggressive off the tee, at altitude, on a course that’s yielding 62s like they’re on special offer – that’s a combination that could keep Jarvis around the top of this leaderboard all week.
Law and order: Scotland’s David Law joins the chase
Lurking just one shot back is Scotland’s David Law, who quietly stitched together a round of 63 that featured eight birdies and just one bogey, the golfing equivalent of a raised eyebrow while chaos erupts around him.
“It was really good. Kind of a pretty steady start, a couple under through seven holes, and then, I got on a nice little run around the turn, you know, which was great.
There are chances around that area of the golf course. I hit some good iron shots, holed a couple of decent putts, and I’m happy with the score.
This week it’s slightly softer than what it’s been in the past, but I don’t think that really changes my core strategy. I think generally this is a golf course you can’t really try and overpower.”
While the leaders are talking about aggression and altitude calculations, Law is the one reminding us that Karen still rewards brains as much as brawn – at least for those not shooting 62.
Aphibarnrat’s magic act at the last
Sharing second place with Law at seven under is Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, whose 63 finished with a short-game party trick on his final hole that he put straight into his personal highlight reel.
“I would say it’s one of the top ten up-and-downs for me (on his final hole). I missed the drive a little bit to the right – hit the trees. My chip out caught a little jump from the rough and I ended up with a terrible lie in a bad spot.
I had to chip, play like a spinner, hit the slope and spin to the right. It gave me 15 feet for par, a downhill putt. It’s the way to finish the day. I will get back and rest and get some sleep in.”
If that’s how he scrambles for par, the rest of the field may want to avert their eyes when he actually finds a fairway.
Swedes swarming, challengers stacking up
Behind Lemke, the Swedish contingent is multiplying like well-dressed, stoic birdie machines. Joakim Lagergren and Mikael Lindberg are both tucked in at six under par, part of a pack that also includes American Ryggs Johnston, Spaniard Angel Ayora and Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia.
It’s the kind of international leaderboard the Kenya Open seems to produce every year: a swirl of flags, accents and wildly different routes to the same number.
And just a few shots further back sits the man who knows exactly what it takes around Karen – defending champion Jacques Kruyswijk. The South African opened with a three-under 67 that featured a bunker-hole-out eagle at the second and a chip-in birdie at the third, the sort of start that suggests he’s not ready to hand over the trophy without an argument.
What it all means after day one
So, after 18 holes, we have:
- Two leaders at ten under, one going full throttle with the driver, the other playing altitude chess.
- A pair of 63s from a calm Scot and a Thai magician who just pulled one of his “top ten up-and-downs” out of the bag.
- A queue of six-unders with every intention of making 62 look ordinary by the weekend.
- A defending champion making chip-ins for fun and quietly edging into position.
Karen Country Club has already shown it’s ripe for low scoring, but with altitude, swirling wind and greens that won’t stay this soft forever, the second round of the Kenya Open could look very different.
For now, Jarvis and Lemke share the spotlight, two very different players joined by one very familiar number. Ten under par on day one. At this rate, par might need counselling by Sunday.
