HENDERSON MAKES IT AFTER

LONG SWEAT AT KENYA OPEN

Scott Henderson endured a long sweat in temperatures of up to 28 degrees before getting the good news that he had qualified for the last two rounds of the Kenya Open at Karen Golf Club, near Nairobi today.
The Aberdonian, pictured right, should have had no worries after a first-round 68 but he looked a different player on his second circuit. He toiled to a seven-over-par 77 for a 36-hole tally of five-over-par 145. For several hours, the projected cut figure was 143 but over the last hour of play, as scores from the late finishers soared, so the safety qualifying mark rose to 145 ... and Henderson was still in the tournament which is part of the European Challenge Tour.
Starting at the 10th, Scott had five bogeys and a solitary birdie at the 17th in 39 to the turn. Then he dropped another shot at the third, followed by a calamitous double-bogey at his last hole, the ninth. For a long time, it looked as though that 6 would KO him from the rest of the weekend action.
Two former Scottish amateur champions George Murray and Andrew McArthur missed out by a considerable margin.
George finished on 149 after a 73 (41-32)which included a triple bogey 7 at the sixth and a double-bogey 6 at the eighth but then a birtdie at the 10th and an eagle 2 at the 12th - too little, too late.
Andrew's 78 for 152 had double bogeys at the sixth and 17th.
Murray Urquhart put together two of the worst scores of his professional career in this tournament - a pair of 83s for a 26-over-par tally of 166.
The Inverness man had seven double bogeys over the 36 holes, four of them coming in the second round - at the seventh, 15th, 16th and 17th.
On the credit side, Fifer Peter Whiteford (142), Eric Ramsay (143) from Carnoustie, Montrose's Graeme Brown (143) and Greig Hutcheon (144) from Banchory all made it through alongwith Henderson..
Whiteford did not play as well as he did for a first-round 70 but a 72 was all that was required for the first objective: beat the cut.
Whiteford had birdies at the seconed and 11th but bogeys at the foufrth, fifth, 13th and 15th.
Ramsay had a second-round 73 - and he won't be looking forward to playing the short 16th twice more. The hole has cost him a double-bogey 5 in both rounds so far.
Brown made a five-shot improvement with a 69. But for a triple bogey and a double bogey in his first round, the Montrose man would have been a lot closer to the leader, Welshman Liam Bond on five-under-par 135.
Hutcheon needed a birdie at one of the last two holes to beat the cut. He did it with a 2 at the short 17th and a par at the last for a 72 and 144.

Earlier Greig had saddled himself with a double-bogey 6 at sixth and bogeys at the 11th, 15th and 16th. Birdies at the second and 14th kept his hopes alive until he got a third one at the penultimate hole.

LEADING HALFWAY TOTALS
Par 140 (2 x 70)
135 L Bond (Wal) 68 67.
137 E Molinari (Ita) 68 69, J Grillon (Fra) 70 67.

138 J Donaldson (Wal) 71 67.
139 R McGowan (Eng) 72 67, J-N Billot (Fra) 70 69.
142 P Whiteford (Sco) 70 72.
143 E Ramsay (Sco) 70 83, G Brown (Sco) 74 69.
144 G Hutcheon (Sco) 72 72.
145 S Henderson (Sco) 68 77.
Non-qualifiers included:
147 P Doherty (Sco) 73 74.
148 R Dinwiddie (Eng) 70 78.
149 G Murray (Sco) 76 73.
149 J Doherty (Sco) 73 76l
152 A McArthur (Sco) 74 78.
166 M Urquhart (Sco) 83 83.