Vincent Byamukama has not won any professional golf event in a decade. He last savoured a tournament victory at the 2016 Entebbe Open.
A dig into that history only happened hours after Byamukama became the latest leader of the MTN Pro-Tee Series at Entebbe Club on Thursday.
He carded a round of two-under 69 to move to five-under overall after 54 holes and thereby assume a two-lead over the rest of the field in the quest for the biggest cut of the Shs15m kitty.
And yet, Byamukama had maintained second place initially, with Marvin Kibirige leading on Day One and David Kamulindwa after Day Two.
‘Good tee-shots and putting, that’s all,’ Byamukama described his performance, comprising initial rounds of 69 and 70. ‘My game is just there. When I tee-off and putt well, that’s my weapon.’
He admits Thursday’s round was a difficult one, evidenced by a double-bogey on par-5 Hole No.1 and bogeys at par-4 Hole No.3 and par-3 Hole No.6. ‘At a certain time, I was over par but I came back strong on the back nine,’ said.
‘It (course) was a bit hard, they pushed the stones back on the tees and the greens are tough so you need to be so careful and keeping your shots in play.
And true, Byamukama sunk six birdies in 10 holes; par-4 Holes No.9, No.13 and No.14, par-5 Holes No.11 and No.18 and the short par-3 Hole No.16.
Indeed, he has not tasted glory in 10 years but the 2013 Uganda Professionals Open champion is not under pressure. ‘I am used to finishing anywhere, it is just a game of golf,’ he said ahead of Friday’s closing round.
‘I take my things slowly. If I win it, well and good, if not, it’s okay. I just need two under or three under to be able to win,’ Byamukama added.
He is ahead of Abraham Ainamani who carded a round of three-under 68 including an eagle on 15th green to move to three-under overall while Kamulindwa is third at -2 overall after shooting 73 including four painful bogeys.
For his round of 68 comprising a horrifying triple-bogey at par-5 Hole No.1 and then six birdies, Bulhan Matovu is in fourth place, a stroke behind Kamulindwa at -1 overall.
DAY THREE LEADERBOARD
1 Vincent Byamukama 69 70 69 208 -5
2 Abraham Ainamani 72 70 68 210 -3
3 David Kamulindwa 72 66 73 211 -2
4 Bulhan Matovu 74 70 68 212 -1
5 Rodell Gaita 69 72 72 213 E
T6 Grace Kasango 74 70 70 214 +1
T6 Andrew Ssekibejja 74 68 72 214 +1
T8 Irene Nakalembe 73 73 69 215 +2
T8 Silver Opio 72 74 69 215 +2
T10 Abbey Bagalana 73 73 71 217 +4
T10 Tom Jingo 73 72 72 217 +4
12 Deo Akope 75 72 71 218 +5
13 Samuel Kato 76 71 73 220 +7
14 Emma Ogwang 73 74 76 223 +10