From a draw that had more than 300 golfers in the qualification round, we have reached the final four names of the competition.
Just four names. Ngo95 golfers Henry Nsubuga and Picole Lukyamuzi, old boys of Namilyango College, will challenge Steven Kitamirike and Charles Kabunga in the final of the Stanbic 2025 MatchPlay championship at the par-71 Entebbe Golf Club.
Last Saturday’s semi-final encounters were supported by DStv-for-business and they were as enthralling as they were exciting. The first semi-final saw Nsubuga and Lukyamuzi destroy Kin Kariisa and John Paul Basabose 5&4 in a whitewash that no one saw coming.
In fact, Kariisa, the Next Media Services CEO, is convinced that Nsubuga and Lukyamuzi could as well be crowned as champions already.
“No one is beating them in the final,” a magnanimous Kariisa conceded after their semi-final loss. Nsubuga and Lukyamuzi have grown from strength to strength and will be the marginal favourites in the final. Lukyamuzi says they will remain grounded as they wait for the final. “We shall take it one game at a time,” he remarked.
“That is all we can do; we must remain focused and put in the time to work on our short game and the putting.”
For Kitamirike and Kabunga, who dispatched Evelyn Atukunda and Ellis Katwebaze 3&1, the final will be one where they will accord all the respect to the opponent. In stopping the battle-hardened pair of Katwebaze and Atukunda, Kabunga and Kitamirike showed that they have the right mental approach and tactical discipline to last the distance.
The Stanbic Match Play championship is the most popular four-ball-better-ball tournament in the country. Played in Entebbe every year, it attracts golfers from all clubs in Uganda and is designed over seven rounds.