Golf: Kenya retains Victoria Cup in Kampala

Kenya men’s golf team retained the Victoria Cup despite tying on points with hosts Uganda at the Uganda Golf Club in Kampala over the weekend.

Both teams collected a total of 11 points each in the four rounds played, however, since Kenya was the defending champions, they retained the trophy ahead of the 2025 edition.

During the opening round foursomes, Kenya won three matches against Uganda’s one. In the Four Ball Better Ball second round, Kenya won two and halved one. Uganda however got the better of Kenya in round three which was also played in the better ball four. Uganda won three and halved one against Kenya’s half.

In the fourth round of singles, each side won five matches and lost five to tie on 11-11 points. During the singles, Joseph Cwinyaai beat Adel Balala 5-4, and Ibrahim Bagalana won 5-3 against Sammy Mulama, while Ibrahim Semakula beat Danny Chelogoi 2-1, and Andrew Sekibeja beat Dennis Maara 1-up and the last Ugandan win was by Titus Okwong, who beat Kenya’s youngster Elvis Muigua 2-1.

Kenya’s wins came via John Lejirmah, who beat Amon Bwambale1-up, and junior golfer Krish Beiju beat Elton Thembo 3-2, while Josphat Rono beat Akena Reagan 1-up, while Ebill Omoll won also 1-up against John Musimenta and Michael Karanga gave Kenya its fifth victory by beating Joseph Kasozi 2-1.

The Victoria Cup has been taking place annually since 2016. The cup was donated by former Boston Marathon champion Moses Tanui, who is currently the Kenya Golf Union (KGU) representative in the North Rift region.

Meanwhile back home, the links Mombasa Golf Club course over the weekend hosted the first round of the KCB East Africa Golf Tour, where the four-ball team of Prisca Jebet, Rishi Dodhia, Florence Karimi, and Orpha Wamaitha returned a combined score of 123 points to emerge as the overall winners.

Finishing second was the team of club captain James Gitonga, Elijah Ibua, Gabriel Gakuo, and Peter Karanja, who returned 112 points. The two teams booked a slot in this year’s grand finale slated for December.

“We had an amazing golf outing here today. We wanted to participate in the tour’s grand finale, which is why we pushed ourselves to ensure that a win was the only outcome at the end of the day. I cannot wait to compete against top golfers in the country and across the region later this year," said Prisca Jebet.

In the individual section, Willy Sang posted an impressive 40 points to take the overall title in the field of 138 golfers. Former club chairman Peter Kimanga took the men’s title on 39 points. The Ladies' title went to Orpha Wamaitha with 39 points, while Mattias Lagermo was the best guest.