Uganda trails Kenya as the Victoria Cup Golf Championship starts

Uganda will have to dig deep if it is to defend the Victoria Cup golf title after trailing Kenya by four points as the first day’s action ended at Entebbe Club on Thursday.

Uganda had a shaky start, trailing Kenya 2.5-1.5 points in the opening round foursomes in the morning, before it got worse for them in the afternoon fourballs, where they only managed a half point to Kenya’s three.

The opening round was played under the foursomes format (players play alternating shots until the ball is holed), while the afternoon session was played under the fourballs (where players play with their own ball on that hole, with the best-performing player winning the hole for their team). 

Kenyan TSEVI SONI reacts to his putt during the opening round of the Victoria Cup at Entebbe Club, March 5, 2026

Apart from the pair of Reagan Akena and Peter Mayende, who won their match decisively against Daniel Kiragu and Isaac Makokha, 4&3 in the morning session, the rest of the team, Uganda, struggled.

Kenya edged the opening round foursomes 2.5-1.5 points, with the pair of Elvis Muigai and Junaid Manji winning their match against Joseph Kasozi and Elton Thembo 2up, despite the Ugandans starting the match strongly. Kasozi and Thembo led early on but lost concentration and momentum, allowing their opponents to win the match. 

John Lejrimah and Kevin Anyien also beat Andrew Ssekibejja and Godfrey Kambale by the same score, while Abdullah Kakooza/Amon Bwambale fumbled their one-hole lead, which they took at the 14th, at the 17th hole, where their opponents, Yuvraj Rajput and Tsevi Soni, got par, which they boggied. In the afternoon four balls, it was again the Akena/Ssekibejja pair that managed to square their match against Muingai/Anyien despite the Ugandan leading 1up through hole 14.

Kenyan TSEVI SONI reacts to his putt during the opening round of the Victoria Cup at Entebbe Club, March 5, 2026

In the other matches, Junaid Manji/Tsevi Soni beat John Musiimenta/Abdu Kakeeto 3&2, while Godfrey Kambale/Joseph Kasozi fell 5&3 to Daniel Kiragu/Krish Shah.

“The boys played under unnecessary pressure and the expectations, and they made some avoidable mistakes. They failed to use the course to their own advantage, yet the Kenyans looked comfortable,” team coach Flavia Namakula said.

“But we can still recover, the four points are not much, and we can bounce back.” Last year, Uganda stood out in the four-ball better-ball format, earning 3.5 points while allowing only 0.5. Uganda was also 4-0 in the foursomes and squared it out 2-2 with their opponents in the fourballs.

Despite losing the singles 6-4, the Ugandans had done enough for the win. The tournament started in 2016, with Kenya winning the first three editions.

Uganda then won the tournament on home soil in 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the 2020 and 2021 editions, after which Kenya bounced back to claim the 2022 title.

The 2023 event was cancelled due to technical issues, while the two nations squared off in Kampala in 2024.

Day 1

Uganda 2pts

Kenya 6pts