Marvin Kibirige did not try too hard to force things and it somehow gladly paid off for him to assume a one-shot lead at the inaugural Pro-Tee Series by MTN at Entebbe Club on Tuesday.
Opting to go for a cautious approach, Kibirige fired six birdies in an opening round of three-under 68 at the par-71 course.
‘It was okay, not bad,’ said the man from Namulonge’s Mary Louise Memorial Golf Club. He struggled to recall the time he last led a local pro golf event on the opening day.
When memory served him right, Kibirige noticed he last led at the same stage back in 2025 during the Pearl of Africa (POA) Series leg at Kitante.
In Entebbe, the conditions tested Kibirige’s mettle. ‘It is a bit hard because of the drought,’ he said of the course conditions.
He fired birdies on Holes par-5s No.1, No.11 and No.18 as well as the par-3 Hole No.12 and par-4s No.3 and No.14. ‘My putting was good though I was struggling with the long irons because I was just pulling to the kind of grass in Entebbe,’ he explained.
Kibirige is using the tournament as a warm-up before he engages gears to return to play on the Professional Golfers Tour of India (PGTI) next month. ‘I am taking it as a practice round and building a competition mindset and muscle,’ he added.
He however scratched with three bogeys on the par-4 Hole No.5 where he struggled to beat the wind only to hit a tree, the par-3 Holes No.8 and No.16 where he missed the greens, chipped and missed the putt.
Kibirige plans to keep the same style of play on Day Two of the 72-hole competition despite pressure from Rodell Gaita and Vincent Byamukama who are both tied in second place on two-under 69.
Joseph Mawejje is fourth at level-par 71 while the trio of Silver Opio, Abraham Ainamani and David Kamulindwa are tied in fifth place at one-over 72 and five others including female pro Irene Nakalembe are joint-eighth on 73.
MTN ENTEBBE PRO-TEE
DAY ONE LEADERBOARD
1 Marvin Kibirige 68 -3
T2 Rodell Gaita 69 -2
T2 Vincent Byamukama 69 -2
4 Joseph Mawejje 71 E
T5 Silver Opio 72 +1
T5 Abraham Ainamani 72 +1
T5 David Kamulindwa 72 +1
T8 Abbey Bagalana 73 +2
T8 Tom Jingo 73 +2
T8 Emma Ogwang 73 +2
T8 Ronald Otile 73 +2
T8 Irene Nakalembe 73 +2