Cometh the hour, cometh the man. When the chips were down, up stepped the son of Tooro.
With the kingdom grieving after the passing of their king and subsequently awaiting the coronation of his replacement, George Desmond Kamurasi, a new champion of the Uganda Professionals Open was crowned.
A difficult week for Tooro has ended with some good news. Homeboy Ronald Rugumayo finally climbed Uganda’s Golf Everest after a putting masterclass to win the silverware at Kitante Course.
For so many years, Rugumayo had come close. Asked on Tuesday how he felt ahead of the Open, he responded with two words: “I’m hungry.” He had been knocking on the door in recent Uganda Opens, only to falter towards the end.
This time around, he held his nerve. But it wasn’t as easy as he made it seem. Playing alongside Dismas Indiza and Philip Kasozi in the second-to-last group, Rugumayo started slowly.
He was one-over after the second hole before he improved his card with red scores on holes three, four, and five.
A huge save on the sixth for par maintained his momentum, and he came close to a birdie on the seventh.
But the turning point of the round came on the eighth, where everything that could possibly happen, happened. Rugumayo’s tee shot went right, with no one sure where it was.
He then went out-of-bounds with his provisional before playing another ball down the fairway. After a search, his first ball was found in-bounds, though it took some considerable time.
Indiza, who also went out-of-bounds, took some time as he sought relief from a mound of soil.
The latter shot a seven, but Rugumayo—who later sought relief for his third shot that was resting on stones on a pathway—miraculously chipped in for a birdie that gave him all the momentum he desperately needed.
He scorched the back nine with some huge plays, including monster birdies on 15 and 17 that broke the field.
“I have waited for so long for this,” a relieved Rugumayo noted afterwards. “I want to thank the entire team of friends who have supported me on this journey. This victory is theirs, too.”
Rugumayo, who shot a 66, finished four strokes better than Nigeria’s Godwin Okoko, the day-three leader. The top six positions were occupied by golfers from seven countries.
In third was Kenya’s Greg Snow, with Tanzania’s Nuru Mollel and Rwanda’s Celestine Nsanzuwera taking fourth and fifth.
There was a three-way tie for sixth between Zambian amateur Dominic Musonda, Robson Chinhoi (Zimbabwe), and Dayne Moore (Zambia).
All hail the new king of the Uganda Professional Golf Open: Ronald Rwabogo Rugumayo!
