Rugumayo's struggles continue in the Sunshine Tour

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Ronald Rugumayo, Uganda’s only representative in the DP World and Sunshine Tour events, has faced challenges after failing to 'make the cut' in consecutive events on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa.

Having opted out of the Magical Kenya Open, where he made a name for himself last year, due to the uncertainty of the qualification path to the event until the last minute, Rugumayo was hoping to make up for it in other DP World Tour/Sunshine Tour events in South Africa.

However, things have not gone according to plan, as he failed to progress through the Investec South Africa Open qualifier and the Joburg Open pre-qualifiers held within eight days.

This means he has his work cut out after failing to make the cut in back-to-back events and will be a spectator at the Joburg Open, taking place from March 6-9 at the Houghton Golf Club in Johannesburg.

His recent form saw him make the cut in two consecutive events, finishing second in the inaugural edition of the Pearl of Africa Golf Series at Kitante before heading to Kigali to compete in the Rwanda Open, where he also earned some good cash after a fourth-place finish at the Kigali Golf Resort and Villas course.

However, success in the Sunshine Tour remains elusive for the Ugandan, who only managed one cut last year in the Betway Big Easy Tour 8, albeit with minimal earnings, out of the nine events he competed in.

Rugumayo is currently an affiliate of the Sunshine Tour and still at the lower levels. He can only continue working his way up the Sunshine Tour categories, as there are levels and standards he must attain before competing in more lucrative competitions.

The Sunshine Tour is a series of professional golf tournaments in South Africa, relaunched in 2000. The tour represents the highest level of competition for male professional golfers in the region. It is based predominantly in South Africa, with additional events held in Zimbabwe.

All members of the Sunshine Tour are ranked in a particular category, with 10 categories in total. Players in Categories 1–9 are regarded as ranked members, while those in Category 10 are unranked. When filling a tournament field, players are exempt in order of ranking. The cut-off points for entry depend on the field size and which players enter the tournament.

There are regular re-rankings of all players in Category 9, and depending on their performance throughout the season, they stand a chance of playing themselves into the bigger (co-sanctioned) events towards the end of every season.