Madina wins her first JW Uganda Ladies Open as Babirye capitulates late on
Tanzanian golfer Iddy Madina holds the JW Uganda Ladies Golf Open trophies. PHOTOS/EDDIE CHICCO
What you need to know:
The gallery had grown with every moment; the holes were getting fewer and the scent of another Babirye Championship could be scented.
The final day of the 2024 Johnnie Walker Uganda Golf Ladies Open will go down in folklore as one of the most memorable.
The twists that occurred in the final four holes will be spoken about for ages.
In the end, Tanzania’s Iddy Madina claimed her first Uganda Ladies Golf Open title after decades of trying. The end was worth the wait given how she clinched the trophy.
When the day started, Uganda’s Martha Babirye had a one-stroke lead. Teeing hole 15, she was in charge. The Tanzanian threesome was trailing.
The gallery had grown with every moment; the holes were getting fewer and the scent of another Babirye Championship could be scented.
But only God can explain what happened to Babirye on 15. She went out-of-bounds on her second shot from 180 yards to hole out with a triple-bogey.
On 16, she registered another bogey before fading out of the Championship frame with an ugly triple on the famed Deo Akope Hole 17. The final hole encapsulated Babirye’s troubles.
On for two after hitting the longest drive, Babirye four-putted to round off the tournament with an 80 that gave her a gross of 232.
Meanwhile, while Babirye was in free-fall Hawa Wanyeche appeared to have sewn up the crown.
Teeing 18, she had a one stroke advantage and needed to match Madina’s return on the hoke to win the tournament.
She, however, carried the flag and the green on her third shot and left herself in the most perilous position on a downslope against a very difficult flag placement.
Madina played her approach in the centre of the green and watched on with a mixture of excited apprehension and pensiveness.
Iddy Madina on the tee box number three.
A playoff looked likely at the time but only if Wanyeche’s next shot gave her a chance for a bogey.
She chose to putt, which wasn’t necessarily an unwise decision but the problem was that she didn’t clear the whole fairway.
The ball decelerated just as it was about to enter the green. Going for five on slope of the green, she attacked aggressively and found herself further than Madina’s marker.
From then on, it was apparent that she had suffered an epic mental collapse. She promptly carded an 8
that effectively ended the tournament as a contest.
Madina bided her time before putting twice to claim the most unexpected title. She beat Wanyeche by two strokes to claim the trophy and the lion’s share of the Shs6m kitty.
