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POA winner Kibirige to skip Rwanda Open
Kibirige won in a sudden death playoff. PHOTOS/EDDIE CHICCO
What you need to know:
Teeing hole 17, pre-tournament favourite Ronald Rugumayo was three strokes down against his younger counterpart Marvin Kibirige who appeared to be cruising to a most-certain victory.
Saturday’s Pearl of Africa finish at the par-72 Uganda Golf Club at Kitante will go down in folklore as one of the most enthralling, stimulating and exciting conclusions to a major tournament in the history of the game in the country.
Teeing hole 17, pre-tournament favourite Ronald Rugumayo was three strokes down against his younger counterpart Marvin Kibirige who appeared to be cruising to a most-certain victory.
Then things fell apart. First, Kibirige missed the green on the par-3 to bogey the hole while Rugumayo comfortably hit regulation and holed out for par.
Still, the odds favoured Kibirige to hold out on the final par-4 18th given that he still held a two-stroke lead. All he had to do was match Rugumayo’s score on the final hole or at the very worst hole out for the loss of only one shot to his rival.
But what happened at the time was almost inexplicable. Rugumayo found the fairway and set himself up for a perfect approach shot to the flag, Kibirige on the other hand entered the woods.
The 22-year-old Namulonge born-and-bred golfer was feeling the effects of pressure. By the time, the gallery had grown and his nerves were wilting under the weight of expectation.
Rugumayo in contrast cut a calm figure as the more experienced and celebrated golfer. He knew he needed the birdie. What he didn’t know was whether Kibirige would bogey the hole.
Rugumayo’s putt to force the playoff was a stroke of genius. Widely accepted as the best putter on the greens, Rugumayo read the line and gave the ball the delicate stroke it required to roll in from 17 feet. There were wild scenes in the club house and for the huge galley which couldn’t wait to brace itself for a playoff between these two abundantly gifted ball strikers.
But once Rugumayo found the water pond to the left of fairway 12, famously known as ‘Kareeba’, the destiny of the championship swung Kibirige’s way.
Kibirige (R)and Musiimeta.
Kibirige too didn’t arrive on the 12th green in regulation; he actually reached for three. But Rugumayo’s chances ended once he found a second hazard for his third shot.
The Tooro-born star duly picked his ball to concede the hole and victory to Kibirige.
It was a dramatic ending to the first leg of the Pearl of Africa golf series and organisers have been left elated by the reception the tournament has among professionals, amateurs and golf enthusiasts.
Kibirige took home Shs3.8m, which was the lion’s share of the Shs20m kitty the professionals shared.
Shortly after, he told Daily Monitor that he will skip this week’s $50,000 Rwanda Open to prepare for the qualifiers of the Magical Kenya Open due at Vet Lab golf course in Nairobi next month.
The Magical Kenya Open qualifiers will be a 36-hole event in one day and Kibirige wants to give it his all at Vet Lab.
“There is no time to rest and recover between Kigali and the Vet Lab qualifiers so I decided to prioritise the bigger event,” Kibirige remarked.
“I am focused on Vet Lab, I want to do well,” he added.
Pearl of Africa Golf Series
Leaderboard
Marvin Kibirige 68 72 72 72 284
Ronald Rugumayo 68 77 69 70 284
Philip Kasozi 72 76 69 71 288
David Kamulindwa 71 71 73 75 290
Amateurs
John Musimenta 65 77 76 218
Sande Lulet 75 76 71 222
Morris Ashaba 76 77 73 226
Isaac H. Ogwal 76 80 74 230
