He struggled. He felt the heat. Call it complacency or the weight of expectations. At one point, it looked like he was about to implode. In the end, he held on.
John Musimenta made history at Uganda Golf Club in Kitante when he held off a spirited chase from Jinja Club’s Sande Lulet to win the inaugural Pearl of Africa Series event.
But it wasn’t as smooth sailing as it appeared when he shot a 65 in the opening round to race into a seven-shot lead.
Through 12 holes on Friday, he was six-over after carding double-bogeys on the 2nd and 5th holes, and bogeys on the 10th and 11th.
At that time, Lulet was one-under for the day and within two shots of Musimenta. But the latter held his nerve to sink birdies on the 13th and 17th.
His 27-foot putt on the 18th nearly found the bottom of the cup to round off a deserving win with a glorious birdie, but it didn’t matter.
Musimenta, who was introduced to the game as a junior golfer at UGC by his golf-playing father, Julius, ten years ago, has grown in build and stature in the game and is a certified national team golfer today.
His iron-striking is among the very best, while his game management has improved significantly in recent years.
For his victory, Musimenta will walk away with Shs1.7 million, while Lulet settles for Shs1.2 million.
Third-placed Morris Ashaba earned himself Shs900,000.
The amateur prize pool was Shs5 million, which will be shared by the top six performers.
Meanwhile, Marvin Kibirige returned a level-par round of 72 to maintain his lead among the professionals.
The Namulonge-born-and-bred golfer was cruising after an eagle on the 8th hole, but a double-bogey on the next hole stained his card.
Kibirige has a two-shot lead over his rival, Rugumayo, who played a three-under 69. Rugumayo’s par-5 troubles, however, haven’t gone away.
He had only one birdie, on the 8th, which was one of the six he sank on the day.
Regardless, Rugumayo’s temperament on the final day is one of his strengths, and his chase of Kibirige in the final group will attract a sizeable gallery from the 1st to the 18th hole.
David Kamulindwa, who is just three shots off the pace, and Philip Kasozi will be the other two golfers in the four-ball, which is most likely to produce the winner.
The professionals are competing for Shs20 million. Saturday’s round will also include a subsidiary event.
