Abraham Ainamani is a man of few words and often, the man from Palm Valley Golf and country Club as well as Entebbe Club prefers that his actions speak for him.
And for a second time running in a space of weeks, Ainamani did it the hard way to edge David Kamulindwa at a local professional golf event.
This time, he struck a sweet eagle on the par-5 Hole No.18 to beat Kamulindwa by two shots and win the inaugural 72-hole MTN Pro-Tee Series’ first leg at Entebbe Club last week.
By finishing on one-under 70, Ainamani topped the leaderboard and thereby took the biggest share of the Shs15m kitty by MTN with a best aggregate score of four-under 280.
‘I have been working so hard to be ready for the upcoming tournaments,’ a pretty delighted Ainamani told this paper.
‘So I came to test my potential after adequately preparing for it. Even though it (tournament) came on short notice, as pros, we have to be ready anytime.’
Ainamani turned professional in 2018 and weeks prior, he had beaten Kamulindwa at Three Ways tournament by Bro Group at Tooro Club in Fort Portal via a sudden-death play-off.
In Entebbe, he had maintained a top-five placing right from Day One. ‘As professionals, we work hard to win such a tournament. We pray for many like such and so when they come, we give them our best. I came to win, not just to participate. I thank MTN for this opportunity.’
But, Kamulindwa was left dejected after a mishap. He rued the double-bogey at the par-4 Hole No.14 in his closing round of level-par 71.
“I feel bad, this is my second tournament that I am finishing second,’ the hardworking Kamulindwa reacted. ‘I came here to win. No one recognizes the second person. Everything was in my hands. I made a wrong decision, that’s why I am second.’
The duo were tied when Ainamani bogeyed par-3 Hole No.16 and par-4 Hole No.17 while Kamulindwa had already finished. The latter was unsettled as he paced around the 18th green before Ainamani sunk the eagle, one of his four across four days.
‘I aimed at playing greens on regulation, keeping balls in play, and maintaining a good mental attitude throughout my time on the course,’ Ainamani said of his final day.
‘There was a bit of pressure knowing that Kamulindwa had finished. All I had to do was to keep on the fairway on Hole No.18 and attack the green for two to give me a birdie advantage and or better to win the tournament. A birdie turned to an Eagle. That was a good feeling,’ he added.
The pressure indeed was visible on Ainamani’s card as he made six bogeys in total but another eagle on the 15th green and three birdies indeed set him apart.
MTN PRO-TEE SERIES
LEG 1 – FINAL LEADERBOARD
1 Abraham Ainamani 72 70 68 70 280 -4
2 David Kamulindwa 72 66 73 71 282 -2
3 Rodell Gaita 69 72 72 72 285 +1
T4 Bulhan Matovu 74 70 68 74 286 +2
T4 Vincent Byamukama 69 70 69 78 286 +2
6 Irene Nakalembe 73 73 69 73 288 +4
T7 Silver Opio 72 74 69 74 289 +5
T7 Andrew Ssekibejja 74 68 72 75 289 +5
9 Grace Kasango 74 70 70 76 290 +6
10 Abbey Bagalana 73 73 71 74 291 +7
11 Samuel Kato 76 71 73 72 292 +8
12 Emma Ogwang 73 74 76 73 296 +12
13 Deo Akope 75 72 71 79 297 +13
14 Tom Jingo 73 72 72 82 299 +15