Otile takes early lead at POA Golf Series in Lugazi

Leader Otile promises to stay calm ahead of second day at Lugazi Hills 

Lugazi, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & UGU MEDIA | When it comes to skill, technique, and talent, few compare with Ronald Otile. Although he has had his struggles in recent times, the affable golfer remains one of the finest professional golfers around.

On Wednesday in the opening round of the Pearl of Africa Golf Series at Lugazi Hills Golf & Country, Otile shot a measured level-par 71 to assume leadership of the board.

It wasn’t all plain sailing, however. Otile’s first shot went out-of-bounds, and it is testament to his strong mental powers and powers of recovery that he composed himself to scramble a bogey. The opening hole at Lugazi is a short par-4, but several golfers were punished. Tom Jingo for instance holed out for a quadruple bogey, and his day never quite recovered from that ugly score.

Otile played three birdies and three bogeys and is expecting another challenging day at Lugazi come Thursday.

“It is a tough course, but I tried my best,” Otile revealed after his round. “On the sixth, I landed on the green, but my approach wasn’t good. That green is big and has many tiers, and I three-putted. But tomorrow is another day, and we shall give it another go.”

While Otile has enjoyed many glorious moments in professional golf, Hussein Bagalana hasn’t. But he is firmly in contention after a one-over 72 that could have been better but for a heavy downpour. “I don’t want to use rain as an excuse because in golf, you are supposed to play the course the way it is. But the rains made the conditions a bit tough on the back nine,” he noted.

Following Bagalana is the Lugazi Hills Golf pro Canary Kabise who shot a 73. Four players are locked on 74. They are Grace Kasango, Irene Nakalembe, Marvin Max Kibirige and Deco Mutebi. Ronald Rugumayo is five shots off the pace after an uncharacteristic 76. It was a day to forget for Philip Kasozi whose 85 score was conspicuous for the 12 he shot on the par 5 16^th.

Ronald Otile reminded us why he’s still one of Uganda’s finest.

Despite a shaky start, he bounced back with a level-par 71 to top the leaderboard on Day 1 of the #POAGolfSeries #PearlOfAfricaGolfSeries at Lugazi Hills. A Well deserved win. #ForTheLoveOfGolf #GolfInUganda #Golf pic.twitter.com/Y4aLSEsNjG

— POA Golf Series (@poagolfug) July 16, 2025

In the ladies’ gross amateur category, Peace Kabasweka is top of the pile after a 79, one better than Martha Babirye. For the men’s amateur group, Juma Abiti played the best round of any golfer in Lugazi. His 70 was the only red score across all the categories competing in Lugazi.

National team captain Joseph Cwinya-ai started with a triple-bogey on the first hole before settling down to finish with 72. He is second to Abiti. Cwinya-ai birdied three of the four par 5s but bogeyed the par 3 15^th. Others in contention are Rogers Eyo who returned 74 and Michael Tumusiime, Joseph Kanolera, Asuman Tumwesigye and Ibrahim Ssemakula. All four shot 75.

Launched in January this year, the Pearl of Africa series has been designed to enrich the quality of competition among elite amateurs and professionals. The Lugazi Hills tournament is the final leg for this year’s Pearl series but next year will have four competitions. POA Lugazi has been supported by Home Bliss, IOTEQ, MTN Uganda, UNOC, UTB, Aquafina, NBS Sport and Mighty Rides among others.

Leaderboard