Uganda’s number one lady golfer Flavia Namakula, over the weekend won the MTN World Golfers Championship at the IBB International Golf Club course in Abuja, Nigeria.
According to This Day newspaper the Ugandan ace lady golfer was the star performer in the Northern Regional Qualifiers surprising every one returning with the best gross score of 79 to book her passage into the national final billed for Uyo in September.
She finished with 78 nett to pick one of the three slots in the handicap 0-5 flight category. She took honours ahead of the tested Peter Eben-Spiff and Emeka Okatta, who shot 79 and 83 respectively to make the cut for the 36-hole national final.
Her victory was a surprise, considering that she is based in Uganda and is not too familiar with the terrain of the IBB Golf course, where she played for the first time in 2010.
“Though, I regularly visit Nigeria, I arrived for the tournament three weeks ago and I am not that used to the golf course in Abuja. But I feel honoured to top the chart in the 0-5 handicap flight category and qualify for the national final of the MTN WGC. I met some good players at the competition,’’ she revealed.
Incidently Namakula is using the tournament as a build-up to the Uganda Ladies Open that is slated for October at Entebbe Golf Club and an invitational in Dubai later in the year.
Her feat and status make her unique, as it is very rare in this part of the world, to see a female golfer parading a 1-handicap.
According to Namakula, her progress was due to the hard work and commitment she put into playing in several countries and in many tournaments.
“I put in a lot of time by playing in many big competitions, in many countries and don’t only limit myself to playing in Uganda. This has helped me to make a steady progress in the game,’’ she confessed.
The MTN WGC is a tournament that excites and brings out keen competition from players on the field.