NAIROBI, Kenya, February 20, 2026 – Frenchman Frederic Lacroix and Casey Jarvis of South Africa ended the day atop the leaderboard of the Magical Kenya Open (presented by Absa) after two rounds of the DP World Tour event on Friday morning.
Lacroix added to his 5-under-par 65 in Thursday’s Round One to become joint leader on 13-under-par, adding to an exciting script going into the penultimate round of competition on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Jarvis carded a 5-under-par 65 on Round Two to add to Thursday’s 8-under-par 62 to take his overall score to 13-under-par.
Commenting after a thrilling outing on the par 70 course, Jarvis credited his good performance to a solid game plan.
“I think just sticking to the game plan was important out there. A lot of drivers, trying to stay really aggressive off the tee and taking advantage of that. The ball flew a little shorter in the morning, but the game plan was the same – to be aggressive, and that’s pretty much what I did,” the 22-year-old said.
Jarvis, who is yet to notch a win in the DP World Tour, said he will not get carried away but will keep his eyes on the prize.
“It’s nice putting myself into these positions. Obviously, I get more comfortable with it. I’ve had two wins on the Sunshine Tour, so I kind of know what the feeling is now,” he said.
Prepared for surprises
Speaking at the same time, Lacroix said he was always prepared for the challenges that the Kenyan weather could conjure up.
“This morning was a bit colder, a bit more humid, so the ball is not going to travel that much. Yesterday evening was very hot and dry, and there’s a few out there that are going to be bad – you just hit it and it never stops. We know it, it’s not my first in Kenya. You just know it’s going to happen, and you prepare for it,” the 30-year-old said.
He added: “It’s still okay. The fairways run a bit, so if you miss the fairway, it’s going to bounce a bit crazy. The greens are getting better, which is good.”
The Frenchman was further delighted to come off the course without any heart-in-the-mouth moments.
“I’m super happy about today. I made a couple of good putts and it was just a solid round off the tee with no mistakes,” Lacroix said.
He added: “It’s one of those where if you miss a shot off the tee, you get in trouble very quickly. I think it’s more managing some holes you can be aggressive, sometimes you can’t, especially with different pins. If you live in the middle of the fairway, you’re going to be alright.”
