The opening day of the professionals’ event of the Johnnie Walker Uganda Open Golf Championship 2024, on Wednesday at the par-71 Entebbe Club, saw Zambia’s Dayne J. Moore make an impressive start, taking the top spot on the leaderboard with a remarkable round of 7-under-par 64.
The South Africa-based Moore, 32, sunk nine birdies. Remarkably, he birdied all the par-5s (holes 1, 7, 11, 15, and 18). He had back-to-back birdies four times. His other birdies were on holes 3, 4, 10, and 14.
The Sunshine Tour golfer however bogeyed par-3 holes 6 and 16. The rest of his shots were pars.
“I enjoyed the opening round. Entebbe is a good place,” Moore told the media, adding that, “Golf is unique. Today, I had 7-under. You cannot tell what I will play tomorrow or the next days. But, the target remains – to play well.”
However, Kenya’s Jastas Madoya follows closely in second place, having shot a 66, just two strokes behind Moore, at 5-under-par.
Another Kenyan, Samuel K. Chege, secured third place with a solid 68, putting him at 3-under-par.
Uganda’s Abraham Ainamani rounds out the top four, delivering a round of 69 to finish at 2-under-par, representing the best performance among the Ugandan players so far.
In a tie for fifth place, Kenya’s Mike Kisia and Uganda’s Opio Onito each posted a 70, leaving them at 1-under-par.
Other notable players in the top ten include Joseph R. Akena, who last week won the amateur event of the same tournament, and Phillip Kasozi, both shooting 71 to stay even-par.
Ronald Rugumayo, who was one of the pre-tournament favorites, did not fare as well on the opening day. He finished tied for 32nd place with 14 others with a round of 75, which places him at 4-over-par. Rugumayo will need to make significant improvements in the upcoming rounds if he hopes to climb up the leaderboard and make the cut on Thursday.
Day two is very crucial as players will be seeking to make the cut and get a share of the UGX 150M kitty.
