A forensic inquiry must be opened into how he got a bogey on the second hole on Thursday. It is the only bogey Dominic Musonda has conceded in his 42 holes at Kitante.
With the Zambian challenger firmly in the driving seat, a massive six strokes ahead of his nearest competitor, Musonda already has one arm and a few fingers on the trophy.
So dominant was Musonda that what would pass for a blemish on his card were his 11 pars. He was that imperious. On the final hole, he missed the fairway and looked to be in precarious bogey territory.
From deep in the trees, he scrambled his way to the green and nearly holed a birdie on one of the toughest pin placements of the entire course.
If a golfer’s ability is measured by their capacity to recover from trouble, Musonda passed with flying colors. Though in fairness, he was hardly in trouble.
He was accurate off the tee and superb with his wedge game. Catching him will take an epic collapse, and with the way he is swinging, the chances of that happening are as thin as a mosquito’s nostril.
Musonda came within a shot of matching the course record of 63 set by Deo Akope in 2010 during a Monthly Mug Professional event, a record later equaled by Kenya’s gifted left-hander Richard Ainley.
Unsurprisingly, Musonda had several close shaves to match Akope and Ainley’s mark. What was confirmed on Thursday is that a Ugandan will not be lifting the trophy.
Gilbert Chalwe, the other Zambian who has been sensational at Kitante, shot a one-under 71 to maintain his grip on second position. He is five strokes better than day-one leader Joseph Kasozi.
Ugandan golfers occupy the next three positions on the leaderboard, with Juma Abiti, John Musiimenta, and Joseph Cwinya-ai forming the top six alongside another Zambian, Musamba Kapoma.
Cwinya-ai showed his championship DNA with eight birdies and a fine round of 69, bringing respectability to his scorecard.
The main Open concludes today before attention shifts to next week, with the Pro-Am penciled in for Tuesday.
