Rugumayo heads South after 4-place finish in Rwanda Open

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Ugandan professional golfer, Ronald Rugumayo, hopes to build on his recent form, which saw him make the cut in two back-to-back events, to get his Sunshine Tour campaign back on track.

After finishing second in the inaugural edition of the Pearl of Africa Golf Series at Kitante, Rugumayo headed to Kigali with 11 other Ugandan pros and 18 amateurs to compete in the Rwanda Open, where he also earned some good cash after four days of action at the Kigali Golf Resort and Villas course.

Rugumayo managed a fourth-place finish after carding a total of 5-under 283 over 72 holes in the championship, which attracted 61 players from different countries on the continent.

Rwandan Celestin Nsazuwera. (Credit: Michael Nsubuga)

His score was seven strokes away from the winning score of 12-under 276 posted by Rwandan Celestin Nsazuwera and three and two strokes behind Zimbabweans, Promise Sombreiro and Visitor Mapwanya, who finished second and third, respectively. Rugumayo was the best of the five Ugandans who made the cut. The others were Rodell Gaita and David Kamulindwa, who finished fifth and fourteenth, as well as Abraham Ainamani and Vincent Byamukama, who finished 21st and 30th, respectively.

Rugumayo notched 16 birdies over the four rounds to register a morale-boosting performance ahead of the more competitive Sunshine Tour events in South Africa.

“I had a decent week overall. It may not be a spectacular performance, but I made no silly mistakes. I finished strong towards the end, but not quite enough. I will take the learnings to my next challenge in South Africa,” Rugumayo, who will skip the Magical Kenya Open tournament where he made history last year, stated.

He is now geared up for the Hyundai Open in Johannesburg from February 20-23, the South Africa Open in Durban from February 27-March 2, and the Johannesburg Open from March 6-9.

In the amateur category, Joseph Cwinyaai also secured fourth place, having returned 296, twelve strokes behind the winner, Kenyan Michael Karanga, who carded 284 over the four days.

Rwandan Jean D’Amour Hitayezu (287) and another Kenyan, Adel Balala (290), finished second and third, respectively. Ugandan lady golfer Peace Kabasweka also starred with an 18th-place finish and was one of the two women who made the cut to play in the last two rounds.

The tournament attracted golfers from Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Cameroon.

Top ten after the cut

Celestin Nsazuwera (RWA) 66 70 70 70 276

Promise Sembreiro   (ZIM) 67 72 69 72 280

Visitor Mapwanya     (ZIM) 70 71 70 70 281

Ronald Rugumayo     (UG) 72 68 73 70 283

Njoroge Kibugu        (KEN) 73 71 73 70 287

Rodell Gaita              (UG) 73 71 71 72 287

Simon Ngige            (KEN) 76  72 70 71 289

Ernest Ndayisenga  (RWA) 75  73 72 69 289

Francis Epe              (NIG) 75 70 72 72 289

Dismas Indiza          (KEN) 71 71 73 75 290

 

Top five amateurs

Michael Karanga (KEN) 71 70 71 72 284

Jean D’Amour Hitayezu (RWA) 74 69 70 74 287

Adel Balala (KEN) 73 74 69 74 290

Joseph Cwinyaai (UGA) 74 75 72 75 296

Alain Niyonkuru (RWA) 72 77 74 74 297