Memories of Sadi Onito as Kibirige and Rugumayo battle for Pearl of Africa glory

Buoyant POA champion Kibirige eyes DP World Magical Kenya Open qualifier, to skip $50,000 Rwanda Open that starts tomorrow in Kigali

Kampala, Uganda | LOUIS JADWONG & UGC MEDIA | Professional golfers Marvin Kibirige and Ronald Rugumayo gave organizers of the inaugural Pearl Of Africa Golf series the advertisement one can only dream of, with their ‘photo finish’ to the opening round at Uganda Golf Club (UGC) Kitante on Saturday.

“This is a big crowd following this pressure group. This is how it used to be 10 years ago,” remarked a UGC member following the pressure group. He implied that the Pearl of Africa Golf series might be bringing back the “good old days”.

The good old days he must be referring to were the 90s and 2000s when the likes of Sadi Onito, Stephen Birungi and Deo Akope dominated the amateur golf scene.  Then, you needed several marshals for crowd control of the gallery.

The battle on the final holes, and play-off on Saturday, brought back memories of the “good old days”, particularly of Sadi Onito, the all time great with 12 Uganda Open titles to his name. He combined talent, with nerve and daring.

In one of his Uganda Open wins in the 90s, he found himself in the trees, on the opposite side where Kibirige found himself in heading to the 18th hole on Saturday. The trees on the right as you head to the 18th hole were actually planted in the last 20 years.

While Kibirige “played safe” by hitting the ball a shot distance to get back onto the clear fairway – giving Rugumayo a chance to fight back on Saturday –  Sadi Onito looked for a “hole” in the tree trunks and hit a low punch shot that placed his ball close to the 18th green.

While the killer putt by Rugumayo that forced the play-off, provided the drama reminiscent of the Sadi Onito days, the capitulation in the play-off was untypical.

Very few golfers, for very good reasons, ever handed Onito the chance to duel in a play-off!

How it ended on Saturday

Kibirige gave golf enthusiasts and reporters a story for the ages. His heart stopping, nerve-twisting, electric and sensational contest with the indefatigable Rugumayo in the final round of the Pearl of Africa golf series will go down in folklore.

Teeing 17, Rugumayo needed a three-stroke swing to force a playoff. It looked unlikely. Or so we thought. But when you have hit a hole-in-one at a DP World Tour event, made the cut at the Magical Kenya Open and played on the Sunshine Tour, it is likely that you have the mettle and mental prowess to take on such sizeable challenges.

Kibirige missed the green on 17, failed to save par and allowed Mayo to within two strokes. On 18, Kibirige blocked his tee shot while his opponent found the fairway. A sensational birdie by Mayo and Kibirige’s bogey set the stage for a playoff. To his credit, Kibirige showed that he has come of age and can stand toe-to-toe against the best and not be intimidated.

After his victory on Saturday, Kibirige revealed that his focus and attention is firmly on the 36-hole qualifier for the 56th edition of the DP World Magical Kenya Open qualifier to be played at Vet Lab. And because of that, he will skip the Rwanda Open that tees off on Wednesday at Kigali Golf Resort & Villas.

“It was a tough decision to make, but one I had to do,” Kibirige explained.

“The tournament in Rwanda is a good one but I believe that I have a chance to reach the Magical Kenya Open and the time is too short between the Kigali tournament and the Vet Lab qualifiers yet the rest is important.”

The Rwanda Open ends this Saturday while the 36-hole Vet Lab MKO qualifier is to be held two days later.

Kibirige meanwhile says that he never doubted his chances even after Rugumayo forced a dramatic playoff.

“I knew that Mayo is a solid golfer but come the playoff, I knew that I had the ability to stand against him having matched him over 72 holes,” he noted. The professionals shared a kitty of Shs20m while the amateurs, whose tournament was won by John Musiimenta, played for Shs5m.

The leg of the Pearl of Africa Golf series will be played at the par-71 Entebbe Golf Club in April. If the UGC Pearl of Africa Golf series event is anything to go buy, the Entebbe competition promises to be another spectacular show. PEARL OF AFRICA COMMUNICATIONS

SCOREBOARD

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✳ Stats that tell the story of Sadi Onito, and the Uganda Amateur Golf Open from 1932

1932 – H.Davidson (Uganda Golf Club)

1933 – H.Davidson (Uganda Golf Club)

1934 – R.W Hooker (Muthaiga Golf Club)

1935 – J.D Rankine (Uganda Golf Club)

1936 – J.D Rankine (Uganda Golf Clun)

1937 – H. Davidson (Uganda Golf Club)

1938 – R.W Bun (Mombasa Golf Club)

1939 – J.E Higginson

1940 – 1947 NOT HELD

1948 – D. F Stewart (Uganda Golf Club)

1949 – A.Q Roberts (Kitale Golf Club)

1950 – N.C Elwell (Uganda Golf Club)

1951 – N.C Elwell (Mwanza Golf Club)

1952 – J.R Cooke (Uganda Golf Club)

1953 – R.W Hooper (Nairobi Golf Club)

1954 – M.Johnson (Kabalae Golf Club)

1955 – J.R Oglive (Kitale Golf Club)

1956 – J.R Oglive (Kitale Golf Club)

1957 – Ian McAdam (Uganda Golf Club)

1958 – Brian Malone (Uganda Golf Club)

1959 – Ian McAdam (Uganda Golf Club)

1960 – Mike Johnson (Mbale Golf Club)

1961 – Mike Johnson (Mbale Golf Club)

1962 – Mike Johnson (Mbale Golf Club)

1963 – John Higginson (Uganda Golf Club)

1964 – John Higginson (Uganda Golf Club)

1965 – Muhammed Rajab (Nairobi Golf Club)

1966 – John Higginson (Uganda Golf Club)

1967 – I.Pattinson (Dar es Salaam Golf Club)

1968 – G.Burrows (Uganda Golf Club)

1969 – M.Rajab(Nairobi Golf Club)

1970 – M.Couma (Uganda Golf Club)

1971 – J. Kahugu (Sigona Golf Club)

1972 – Ben Okello (Masaka Golf Club)

1973 – Tom Taban (Uganda Golf Club)

1974 – Alex Okodan (Uganda Golf Club)

1975 – Ramathan Kayamba (Uganda Golf Club)

1976 – Sadi Onito (Jinja Golf Club)

1977 – Sadi Onito (Jinja Golf Club)

1978 – Sadi Onito (Jinja Golf Club)

1979 – 1980 – Not held

1981 – Juma Jaffer (Uganda Golf Club)

1982 – Juma Jaffer (Uganda Golf Club)

1983 – Sadi Onito (Uganda Golf Club)

1984 – John Mucheru (Uganda Golf Club)

1985 – Sadi Onito (Jinja Golf Club)

1986 – Sadi Onito (Jinja Golf Club)

1987 – Sadi Onito (Jinja Golf Club)

1988 – Sadi Onito (Jinja Golf Club)

1989 – Allan Njoroge (Muthaiga Golf Club)

1990- Dedan Kagonyera (Kabale Golf Club)

1991 – Sadi Onito (Jinja Golf Club)

1992 – Juma Jaffer (Uganda Golf Club)

1993 – John Gavin (Uganda Golf Club)

1994 – Sadi Onito (Jinja Golf Club)

1995 – Sadi Onito (Jinja Golf Club)

1996 – Sadi Onito (Jinja Golf Club)

1997 – Steven Birungi (Uganda Golf Club)

1998 – Steven Birungi (Uganda Golf Club)

1999 – Steven Birungi (Uganda Golf Club)

2000 – Deo Akope (Entebbe Golf Club)

2001 – Deo Akope (Entebbe Golf Club)

2002 – Deo Akope (Entebbe Golf Club)

2003 – Charles Yokwe (Jinja Golf Club)

2004 – David Odhiambo (Nyanza Golf Club)

2005 – Charles Yokwe (Jinja Golf Club)

2006 – Amos Kamya (Entebbe Golf Club)

2007 – Nicholas Rokoine (Muthaiga Golf Club)

2008 – George Olayo (Entebbe Golf Club)

2009 – Peter Ssendaula (Entebbe Golf Club)

2010 – Brian Mwesigwa (Kabale Golf Club)

2011 –Rogers Byaruhanga (Uganda Golf Club)

2012 – Phillip Kasozi (Uganda Golf Club)

2013 – Peter Ssendaula (Entebbe Golf Club)

2014 – Kitata (Entebbe Golf Club)

2015 – Ronald Otile (Tooro Golf Club)

2016 – Ronald Otile (Tooro Golf Club)

2017 – Ronald Rugumayo (Tooro Golf Club)

2018 – Ronald Otile (Tooro Golf Club)

2019 – Daniel Nduva (Nyali Golf and Country Club)

2020 – John Lejirma (Kenya Railway Golf Club)

2021 – Joseph Cwinya-ai (Tooro Golf Club)

2022 – Andrew Ssekibejja (Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort and Spa Club)

2023 – Godfrey Nsubuga ( Mehta club)

2024 – JOSEPH REAGAN AKENA (Mehta club)