Uganda’s memorable golf tale was all down to togetherness

Team Uganda players celebrate after unbelievably clinching the Zone VI title at Kitante last Saturday. PHOTO BY EDDIE CHICCO

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Comment. It was last Saturday when the where-were-you-when moment arrived at Uganda Golf Club’s par 72 Kitante course.

KAMPALA. A week later, the Ugandan golf fraternity is still having to pinch itself to realise it isn’t all a dream. News that Uganda added the Africa Zone VI Golf Championship revolving trophy to an almost bare trophy cabinet still has a surreal mix of fact and fantasy.
It was last Saturday when the where-were-you-when moment arrived at Uganda Golf Club’s par 72 Kitante course.
Martin Ochaya had gotten a round of applause from the gallery after smashing the ball off the 15th tee.
The 26-year-old’s distinctive long drive had landed safely past the dogleg left, giving him a good chance to attack the pin. An iron shot later, Ochaya was putting for birdie, and with it a win of not just the hole but possibly more.
A composed birdie putt secured Ochaya a neat 5&3 win over Namibia’s Gabriel Shikodi. Suffice it to say that the win sent the gallery into orbit as it was enough to relegate the much-vaunted, South Africa, into second position.

Maniac celebrations
This was no mean feat especially since South Africa has lorded it over Zone VI members, winning a dizzying 19 titles since the championship’s inception in 1995.
The magnitude of the feat was best captured by manic celebrations by Team Uganda players who lifted Ochaya shoulder high. Such was the team camaraderie that even Gideon Kagyenzi partook in the celebrations.
The oldest member on Team Uganda’s roster, 49-year-old Kagyenzi had a ropey performance that yielded no point from a possible three. The greenskeeper at Uganda Golf Club, Kagyenzi had been expected to sweep all his matches in the championship. He faced Kenyan competition in all, and pulled up short. Yet here he was revelling in Ochaya’s memorable putt at the 15th.
Kagyenzi could have been licking his wounds or sulking because Team Uganda coach, Amos Kamya, dropped him for the closing singles round. He wasn’t doing either.
Kagyenzi’s actions typify the stamp that Kamya has put on the team. There are shades of Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers here. All for one, one for all (tous pour un, un pour tous). This strong sense of togetherness helped Ochaya win four out of four on his Team Uganda debut. It also gave the hosts a David-esque resolve that helped them fell the Goliath-esque South Africa.
Two down on the front nine, Adolf Muhumuza, the team captain, and his fellow Toro club golfer, Ronald Otile, turned the tables on South Africans Jason Smith and Teaghan Gauche (whose disqualification on the final day opened a window of opportunity for the hosts) to win one up in the foursomes.
Heads could have drooped when the South Africans threatened to pull away; instead the chin was kept up. Speaking of which, Muhumuza took one on the chin in the opening singles round when he missed a simple putt inside four feet on the 17th to hand South Africa’s Matthew Spacey the lead.
The head didn’t droop. With one hole left to play, Muhumuza backed himself up. You could see it in his eyes. They almost popped out when his birdie putt meant that the hole was halved.
Heads will need to continue being kept up as Team Uganda itinerary this year includes trips to Rwanda (East Africa Golf Challenge), Zambia (President’s Cup) and Kenya (Africa Amateur Golf Team Championship).
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