Ugandan amateur and national team captain Joseph Cwinya-ai arrived at Muthaiga Golf Club in an upbeat mood.
Will Deus Kitata, Uganda’s lone professional at the Magical Kenya Open, showed what a talent he is by emerging as the best golfer in Monday’s 36-hole qualifier at Vet Lab for the right to play in this year’s DP World Tour event.
But the experiences for both Cwinya-ai and Kitata were limited to two days at the par-71 course. But it wasn’t only the Ugandans who found the going too tough at the tournament.
The best golfers in the East and Central African region all came woefully short. Kenya’s Riz Charania and Daniel Nduva finished day one-under-par but were not in contention for the cut after day two.
That means that Uganda’s Ronald Rugumayo, who opted to skip this year’s event, remains the last East African golfer to have made the cut.
All of a sudden, Rugumayo’s decision not to take part in the qualifiers looks to have been a radiantly calculated one. We will never know whether he would have made the cut, but what is almost certain is that he did his stock no harm by sitting out this year’s event.
For Cwinya-ai who shot a combined 19-over, the level was predictably too high. “We still need exposure and participation in many tournaments outside Uganda and East Africa to build confidence in ourselves,” he admitted.
What is clear beyond dispute is that none of the competitions the professionals engage in within the East African region can adequately prepare them for the calibre of golf at the Magical Kenya Open.
Kitata, in his first MKO, was warned a couple of times by the tournament referees for being too slow long before he withdrew midway through his second and final round.
Regardless, he wasn’t going to make the cut in his first DP World Tour event. But he leaves Nairobi with experience of this grade and some harsh lessons learnt of teeing against some of the best golfers in the DP World.
Asked if he would seize the chance to compete at the Magical Kenya Open again, Cwinya-ai had no hesitations. “Absolutely,” he noted.
“Life is all about learning and I would want to prove to everyone around me that I am a better golfer than the scores I played.”
England’s Parry Jones, ranked 110th in the world, remains the leader after two bogey-free rounds. He is 14-under.
