KENYA –Uganda Golf Club’s, Ronald Rugumayo, got off to a steady start on round one of the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing’s 2025-2026 season-opener event in Kenya, ending the day in a tie for fourth on the leaderboard at the Thika Greens Golf Resort.
Rugamayo returned a score of 2-under par 70 for a share of fourth place alongside Tanzania’s Abdallah Dullah, Kenya’s Dismas Indiza, Daniel Nduva, and Simon Ngige.
The quintent sits six strokes behind overnight leader Njoroge Kibugu from Kenya’s Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club, who returned a blemish-free score card, having shot a round of 8-under par 64.
Speaking after his round, Ronald Rugumayo said, “Two-under par for the round, I am happy with it, I’ll take it. The leader has set the pace, I know what I have to work on so I can catch up.”
“Playing in such events is a dream come true for the East African region’s professional, personally I flew from South Africa to play here. As a region, we haven’t been playing much golf previously, hence our performances at the big stages such as the Kenya Open. I want to urge all the region’s pros to take advantage of this tour.” He Added.
Tadeo Rodell and Anamani Abraham, were the next best placed Ugandan’s at T13, after returning identical scores of Par. It was generally a low scoring round, with 17 players out of the field of 76, returning scores of par or better.
Overnight leader Kibugu carded eight birdies; at the first, fourth, sixth, ninth, eleventh, twelfth and eighteenth, to give him a four-stroke lead ahead of the chasing pack, led by Karen Country Club’s Edwin Mudanyi, whose late charge up the leaderboard saw him finish on a score of 4-under par, 68.
Speaking after his round, leader Njoroge Kibugu said; “It was a brilliant round, everything worked well today, especially my putting. This puts me in a great place heading into round two, I’ll try keep doing what I have done today and see where that takes me.”
“I haven’t played a tournament in two months and have been working on staying patient and didn’t come here with many expectations. It was great to see all the work we’ve put in, come into place, I will be happier if it continues working going into tomorrow.” He added.
Mudanyi sits one stroke ahead of Kenya’s elite amateur Michael Karanga who finished the round in third after carding 3-under par, 69. He sits ahead of a five-way tie for fourth that features
Round two action, is set to tee off at 8’Oclock, with players jostling to make the CUT to play through the final round and earn a stake of the KES 2 Million prize fund on offer.
The Sunshine Tour, one of the premier professional golf tours globally, officially expanded its footprint into Kenya and the East African region with the introduction of the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing in March.
The events on this tour not only offer Sunshine Development Tour points but also opportunities to play in the South Africa’s Big Easy Tour, in addition to earning Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, providing local and regional players with increased opportunities to rise through the global golfing ranks.
