Rugumayo wins UGC Ladies Open professionals’ tournament
Rugumayo notched 21 birdies, four eagles, 33 pars and 14 bogeys over the four rounds to beat his nearest challenger, Rodell Gaita, who finished 9-under 279, by three strokes. He consequently pocketed the biggest share of the sh20m prize money.
Ronald Rugumayo chips from a bunker. (Photo by Michael Nsubuga)
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Ronald Rugumayo carded an overall 12-under 276 to win the Uganda Golf Club (UGC) Ladies Professionals' Open at Kitante.
Rugumayo notched 21 birdies, four eagles, 33 pars and 14 bogeys over the four rounds to beat his nearest challenger, Rodell Gaita, who finished 9-under 279, by three strokes. He consequently pocketed the biggest share of the sh20m prize money.
The tightly contested championship had Gaita leading the opening round by a stroke over Rugumayo before the latter, who managed 17 birdies overall, opened up a four-stroke lead after the second round on Wednesday.
However, Rugumayo surrendered the lead after the fourth hole in the final round, with bogeys on holes one and two and a double bogey on the par-3 fourth hole.
Musiimenta edged Bwambale by a stroke to win the UGC Ladies Open men's amateur competition. (Photo by Michael Nsubuga)
But birdies on holes five, seven and eight steadied the ship for Rugumayo, who added two more on holes 13 and 14 to ensure victory.
Gaita’s chase was undone by bogeys on holes three and 17 in what was generally a good round for him, ending with a 71, one stroke better than Rugumayo’s 72.
Grace Kasango, who beat Rugumayo in the Chairman’s Bell tournament last week, finished third, six strokes away from the winning score, while David Kamulindwa’s late charge, which saw him return the best round scores in the third (65) and fourth (70) rounds, finished fourth overall with 5-under 283 in 72 holes.
Andrew Ssekibejja (284) and Phillip Kasozi (284) also finished with red scores, four-under-par, as the championship concluded on Friday.
“Before this week, I really needed to make some significant improvements based on my performance at the Chairman’s Bell tournament. Looking back at my week, my initial adjustment was to cut down on my bogeys. I actually had the most birdies, but I also ended up with the most bogeys,” Rugumayo said.
“I viewed this tournament as a chance to correct what went wrong in previous events. It was the same game, the same course, and the same player. I also have to give credit to my caddy. He's a great guy, and he really helped me save some strokes at various points.”
“I lost four shots because they just didn't go where I intended them to. But for me, the most important thing was how I handled that situation and how I managed to get back into the game,” Rugumayo stated.
In the amateurs’ 54-hole competition played concurrently, national team member John Musiimenta edged teammate Amon Bwambale by a stroke to claim the biggest share of the sh11m kitty.
This was Musiimenta’s second overall win since he won the inaugural Pearl of Africa Golf Championship on the same course last year in February.
Final leaderboard Pros
Ronald Rugumayo 68 67 69 72 276
Rodell Gaita 67 71 70 71 279
Grace Kasango 71 72 67 72 282
David Kamulindwa 73 75 65 70 283
Andrew Ssekibejja 73 69 72 70 284
Phillip Kasozi 71 69 71 73 284
Deo Akope 73 70 74 71 268
Abraham Ainamani 72 74 70 72 288
Marvin Kibirige 70 77 68 73 288
Tom Jingo 75 72 69 75 291
Hussein Bagalana 71 75 74 75 295
Top ten amateurs
John Musiimenta 75 68 73 216
Amon Bwambale 75 73 69 217
Juma Abiti 72 78 70 220
Mackinon Masereka 74 73 73 220
Peter Mayende 76 76 69 221
Sande Lulet 73 76 73 222
Abdullah Kakooza 73 75 74 222
Reagan Akena 76 70 77 223
Shaka Kariisa 75 77 72 224
Titus Okwong 78 74 73 225