In the end, it came down to one putt. It was a putt of three feet. Sink it and the 2024 Uganda Open would go into a play-off. Miss it and Joseph Akena would have a given to become a champion for the first time in history.
Time stood still when Joseph Cwinya-ai addressed his ball and prepared to stroke it. He took his time. He read the line. He took a breath.
Cwinya-ai has been in these positions countless times and was the most experienced of the four-ball in the pressure group. He had no margin for error.
But somehow, somehow, he missed. It will go down as arguably the most expensive bogey of Cwinya-ai’s career.
The gallery ran wild. All day long, the young Akena was the favourite of the gallery. All he had to do was hole his putt, which was inches from the cup.
Akena made no mistake. He stroked his ball into the hole to confirm himself as champion. The kid from Lugazi Hills Country Golf Club, formerly Mehta, had entrenched his name in the storied history of the Uganda Open.
The scenes on the 18th green at Entebbe Golf Course were of unconfined bedlam.
Leading the Lugazi brigade on the greens was former champion Godfrey Nsubuga, also defending champion, who was among the horde that lifted Akena in the air and gave him the ovation he deserved. The kid had made history.
He had etched his name alongside the likes of H. Davidson, Deo Akope, Sadi Onito, Ronald Rugumayo, Ronald Otile and Stephen ‘Tiger Woods’ Birungi; all revered names in the hall of champions of the Uganda Open.
The soft-spoken Akena was typically humble when he spoke moments after his historic day.
“I came into the Uganda Open hoping to finish among the top three, so this victory is something that will live in my memory for a very long time,” he told journalists after the trophy presentation ceremony.
Akena will receive Shs3.8m for winning the tournament while the top 10 amateurs will share Shs15m as prize money.
While the attention and limelight will deservedly go to Akena, Cwinya-ai’s contribution in the final round was as spectacular as it was mind-boggling.
He saved an extremely hard par on the par-4 14th before grinding out a birdie on the par-5 15th. He followed it up with a birdie on the 16th before his well-documented troubles surfaced on the Deo Akope 17th.
Courtesy Photos
