Kagombe, Akankiza triumph at UGC Lady Captain’s Prize

For Edrae Kagombe, featuring at the annual Uganda Golf Club (UGC) Lady Captain’s Prize tournament was all about being present for her friend Grace Kabonero. 

Kabonero’s two-year term as UGC’s lady captain came to a close and a field of about 200 players turned up for the celebratory showpiece at the par-72 course.

Kagombe, who is the lady captain at Mbarara Club, surely needed to be at Kitante. Yet, she almost missed the party. 

“I drove from Mbarara very early in the morning. I was meant to tee-off at 1pm but at 12:30pm, I was stuck in traffic at Kyengera but I requested for the pros to wait for me,” Kagombe narrated shortly after the prize giving ceremony on Saturday night. 

Her perseverance duly paid off. She emerged as the overall winner with a score of 68 nett off handicap 17. 

“Grace is my good friend, I wanted to support her. The round was good,” she explained her scorecard which had a birdie on the short par-3 Hole No.17, seven pars, four double bogeys and six bogeys. 

“My strength is that I keep on the fairway. The shots were good and I had a good group I was playing with,” added the business farmer Kagombe.

Kagombe has played golf since 2008 but for Samson Akankiza, he’s only making strides in the golf arena. 

And when he was announced as the overall best male player with a score of 65 nett, the feeling was surely different from Kagombe’s.

“This is my best return since I started playing golf,” he said. The handicap 30 player only began playing two years ago and his skill has slowly improved thanks to his coach Abbey Bagalana’s touch. 

“I didn’t expect 65 nett. The round was good,” said Akankiza, who is the Dairy Development Authority acting executive director. His card had three pars, 13 bogeys and two double bogeys. 

Kabonero’s send-off was supported by presence of lady golfers from clubs Mbarara, Namulonge, Palm Valley, Jinja, Tooro, Entebbe and Arua.

She handed over office to Wendy Angudeyo, a regular face in the game since 2017. “It’s humbling,” said Angudeyo. “It’s such an honour to serve,” she added. 

For the professionals’ category, Gaita Rodell took the biggest share of the Shs5m kitty by Standard Chartered Bank thanks to a stellar round of five-under 67. 

2023 UGC LADY CAPTAIN’S PRIZE

TOURNAMENT RESULTS

Overall Winner (L): Edrae Kagombe 68 nett

Overall Winner (M): Samson Akankiza 65 nett

Professionals Winner: Rodell Gaita 67

Seniors Winner (L): Katy Kabenge 74 nett

Seniors Winner (M): Patrick Kagoro 71 nett

Guest Winner (L): Joweria Namanda 66 nett

Guest Winner (M): Robert Mabano 70 nett

Juniors Winner (L): Vivian Achen 68 nett

Juniors Winner (M): Pius Ochieng 76 nett 

GROUP WINNERS - LADIES 

A: Eva Magala 69 nett

B: Jackie Kamunyu 72 nett

C: Connie Mukuru 75 nett (c/b)

GROUP WINNERS - MEN 

A: Joseph Kimani 72 nett (c/b)

B: Brian Kagezi 68 nett (c/b)

C: Kaka Matama 68 nett 

NEAREST TO THE PIN

L: Eva Magala

M: Shaban Ram

LONGEST DRIVE

L: Martha BABIRYE

M: Joseph Cwinyaai