Kacungira and Katutsi win Entebbe Matchplay Golf Challenge

Sam Kacungira and Vincent Katutsi defeated Tony Kisadha and Richard Mwami on the third playoff hole to win the Stanbic Entebbe Matchplay Golf Challenge at Entebbe Club on Saturday.

The tightly contested final had both teams go toe-to-toe throughout the match, though the champions held the upper hand, leading 1-up after the first nine holes. Kisadha and Mwami, the 2024 finalists, then took hole 10 before a share of the spoils followed on several holes.

However, by hole 16, the champions were still leading by a hole, but their opponents levelled the match at the 17th before squaring it at the 18th.

They also squared the first two playoff holes on 1 and 2 before Vincent Katutsi won it with an eagle on the 9th, with his second shot landing right in the hole from about 150 yards out.

"It was a tight match. It was a really close call. But it is really exciting to win it," Kacungira said. "We are very excited, and honestly, by the time we got to the third playoff hole, we were both mentally and physically exhausted. But the win feels great. We have a lot of respect for our opponents; they were good players."

The champions will now prepare to attend a DP World Tour event in Dubai on an all-expense-paid trip by Stanbic, with air tickets courtesy of Uganda Airlines, in November. They also walked away with a one-year medical insurance cover from Stanbic Assurance, a Stanbic Infinite Card, a Shs1 million SBG Unit Trust, and two duffle bags.

The finalists were consoled with air tickets to Johannesburg, two duffle bags, and umbrellas.

Brian Manyindo and Mark Musinguzi beat Michael Monne and Ronald Pulle 6&5 to win a pair of air tickets to Mombasa. They also registered the largest win margin of the season.

Lady golfer Peace Hellen, who registered four wins, including topping the ladies' Group A on Saturday and throughout the seven-month tournament, took the subsidiary Player of the Season award, while Evelyn Atukunda and Edrae Kagombe were the best dressed.

In the subsidiary event, Joseph Bagabo (37 points) beat John Muchiri on count-back to emerge as the overall winner of the day in the men's Group A. Brian Nsubuga (39 points) also edged out Herbert Kamuntu in similar fashion in Group B, as Jonathan Bakwega (42 points) beat Moses Ochole (41 points) in Group C.

The other top ladies included Maxi Byenkya (33), Edith Wamalwa (34), and Nice Janda (31). Richard Mucunguzi (38) was the best senior, as Wamalwa and Peter Magona registered the longest drives on the day. Serwano Walusimbi also walked away with the nearest-to-the-pin accolade.

The annual event is co-sponsored by Uganda Airlines, DStv for Business, CFAO Motors, Johnnie Walker, and Afrisafe.