Wanyeche, Madina Stay in the Hunt at Karen Challenge

By Staff Writer 

Tanzania's Enosh Wanyeche and Madina Iddi remain firmly in contention heading into the second round of the 2026 NCBA Karen Challenge after solid opening performances at Karen Country Club on Friday.

Wanyeche opened with a two-over-par 74 to finish the first round tied for 10th, eight shots behind Kenyan leader Adel Taufiq Balala, who produced a brilliant six-under-par 66 to take the early advantage.

Madina also made a competitive start, carding a five-over-par 77 to sit tied for 20th, leaving herself well placed to challenge for a spot in Sunday's final round.

The home players dominated the top of the leaderboard after the opening round.

 Kenya's Mikael Kihara was second on two-under-par 70, while India's Jay Sandhu occupied third place at even-par 72. 

A group of six players shared fourth position on one-over-par 73, including Kenya's Maahir Patel, Eugine Wafula, Alex Mwangi and John Kamaisi, alongside Austria's Ewan Widor and India's Avnish Bhandari.

The regional field, featuring golfers from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, India and Austria, returns on Saturday for the crucial second round.

Only the top 30 players and ties after 36 holes will advance to the final round, in the field of over 150 golfers leaving Wanyeche in a strong position while Madina will be aiming for an improved performance to move comfortably inside the projected cut.

Madina was encouraged by her opening round despite a few costly mistakes.

"I played well today, but a few mistakes on the greens let me down. I'll work on correcting them tomorrow," she said.

Wanyeche was also pleased with his overall performance, although he admitted he had to adjust his strategy after struggling off the tee.

"I played well, but my driver wasn't working for me. I had to make some adjustments and started using my 4-iron and hybrid off the tee instead," he said.

With a round still to play before the final cut is settled, Tanzania's representatives will be looking to climb the leaderboard on Saturday and secure their places in Sunday's final round.

*THE NCBA KAREN CHALLENGE*

*ROUND 1 TEE TIMES*

https://www.golfbox.dk/livescoring/tour/?language=2057#/competition/5773494/teetimes