Nairobi, Kenya – Swiss golfer Joel Girrbach has started the first half of this year's Magical Kenya Open with a promising result. On the challenging Muthaiga Golf Course in Nairobi, which was in excellent condition at the beginning of the European Tour season, the 26-year-old Swiss faced a top-class field. Among the notable names in the tournament are Haotong Li, Jamie Donaldson, Sean Crocker, and Eddie Pepperell.

Girrbach began the first round of the Magical Kenya Open with a strong performance. On the 10th hole, his first hole of the day, he made a sensational eagle, providing a fantastic start to his round. Immediately after, he made a birdie on the 12th hole, showing that he was not intimidated by the international competition. However, on the 13th hole, Girrbach faced a small setback with a bogey. Despite this minor flaw, he maintained his focus and continued to fight.

The final three holes of the back nine provided a mixed result: first, a birdie on the 16th hole, followed by a bogey on the 17th, but then he made another birdie on the 18th. With a total of -3 under par on the back nine, he concluded the first part of his round with a solid performance.

On the front nine, however, Girrbach faced more challenges. An early bogey on the 11th hole (hole 2) started a series of difficulties that affected his entire front nine. Additional bogeys on the 13th, 15th, and 17th holes hindered his progress. He was able to make just one birdie on this side of the course, which caused him to drop back in the rankings. With an even-par result for the first round, he was in a solid, but still improvable, position.

On the second day of the tournament, Girrbach began with an even-par score from the first round. Starting from tee 1, he immediately faced another bogey on hole 2, which gave the impression of a challenging round ahead. However, the Swiss quickly regained his form. On the next hole, he made a birdie, and on hole 4, he followed it up with another birdie. This positive momentum continued, and on the final hole of the front nine, hole 9, he made another birdie, which brought him to an impressive 3-under par for the front nine.

Girrbach also showcased his strengths on the back nine. On hole 10, he made another birdie, moving him up in the rankings. He made further progress with a birdie on hole 14 before finishing his round with a sensational eagle on hole 18. With this strong performance, he climbed up to a tie for 10th place, improving by 56 spots and securing a spot for the weekend with a round of 65 (6-under par).

At the top of the leaderboard, Perry Cohen now leads with an impressive score of -14, one stroke ahead of Benjamin Herbert, who is in second place. Girrbach is currently in 10th place, eight shots behind the leader, and with his strong performance on day two, he has shown that he is ready to compete among the best players on the European Tour. He has positioned himself well for the weekend and could continue to move up the leaderboard if he maintains his strong play in the coming rounds.

Best of luck to Joel for the weekend!