Flavia Namakula took the lead of the opening round of the 61th Uganda Ladies Open Golf Championship at the par 72 golf course at Kitante this morning at the Uganda Golf Club.
The UPDF corporal shot a level par 72 gross score as she played an almost perfect round of golf hitting a total of five birdies on hole 1, 3, 6, 8 and 18 to take a two stroke lead over her nearest rival Harriet Kitaka who returned with a two over par 74 gross.
“I felt comfortable on the course today and didn’t find lots of challenges on the course it’s good to start like this and I hope to remain focused going into tomorrow’s day of action,” Day 1 leader Namakula said. “I am really not chasing any one today and I really am playing the course and play the course according to the day.”
The defending champion Angel Eaton of Tanzania, who is seeking a hat-trick for the tournament had a dismal performance on the course returning to the 19th hole with a score of 12 over par 82 and 13 strokes off the board to finish joint sixth with Eva Magala, and Irene Nakalembe all returning with similar scores.
“I have had a terrible day on the course and I have been playing with an muscle pull injury that has been bothering me for the last one week,” Eaton lamented. “I hope I can recover from this false start, but it will be difficult for me.”
Tanzania’s Iddi Madina Hussein is third with six over par 76 and still in good contention with her four strokes off the overall leader Namakula. The subsidiary will commence tomorrow.
Uganda Ladies Open Day 1 Leader-board
F. Namakula 72
H. Kitaka 74
I. Madina 76
L. Chingono 80
R. Azuba 81
E. Magala 82
A. Eaton 82
I. Nakalembe 82
G. Mbaguta 83