Red-hot Baguma unstoppable in Tooro’s Venus Open
Baguma rejoices with grandmother Kajaka (M) and mother Kabaranga. COURTESY PHOTO
Kampala.
Daniel Baguma is in the form of his life.
The scratch golfer trounced a field of more than 70 golfers to win the Venus Open in Fort Portal on Saturday.
“It is a great feeling,” Baguma told Daily Monitor after clinching his third successive honour in 2016. The 19-year-old first won the Onito Memorial tourney on January 16 in Jinja before taking home the Lady President’s Shield a fortnight ago at Kitante. “At the moment, I am really swinging well,” he said about his form. “There is more yet to come,” he added before celebrating the victory with his mother Rosemary Kabaranga and grand mother Ruth Kajaka.
“It was so tight,” the Fort Portal-bred lad said after clinching his fourth career title. “The course was really dry. All I could do was to drive the ball and keep it in play so that I could maintain a low score.”
Baguma had a mixture of fortunes in his round. But it is the five birdies on Holes No.4, 8, 10, 12 and 13 that covered up for a trio of bogeys (Holes No.5, 17 and 18) and a pair of double bogeys on Holes No. 9 and 14. Baguma had seen off pair Adolf Muhumuza and Ronald Rugumayo by a stroke with reigning Uganda Open champion Ronald Otile coming in a distant fifth, six strokes off the pace in the Tooro Golf Club event.
Muhumuza, fresh from the Nyeri Open in Kenya, blamed fatigue for his show. “Besides the course being too dry, I was a little tired and my tee shots were bad,” Muhumuza said. Another Tooro-bred figure Peace Kabasweka claimed the women’s title after returning 77 nett.
gross winners
Daniel Baguma 72 gross
Adolf Muhumuza 73 gross
Ronald Rugumayo 73 gross
Titus Okwong 76 gross
Ronald Otile 78 gross
NETT WINNERS
WOMEN: Peace Kabasweka 77 nett
SENIORS: Peter Obita 71 nett
GROUP WINNERS
A: Joseph Cwinyaai 62 nett
B: Nuhu Kasana 71 nett
C: Peter Wakholi 71 nett
