Home favourite Celestin Nsanzuwera and Zimbabwe’s Visitor Mapwanya ended the first round of the SportsBiz Africa Golf Championship tied at the top after carding identical 4-under-par 68s at the Kigali Golf Resort & Villas.
The event, the fifth leg of the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing, drew 98 players from across Africa, Europe, and North America, all chasing a slice of the USD 25,000 prize fund, Sunshine Tour points, and world ranking recognition.
Nsanzuwera, carrying the expectations of the home crowd, recovered quickly from an early bogey with a spectacular eagle on the par-4 third hole.
Additional birdies on the 6th, 9th, and 12th kept him in contention, despite a dropped shot on the 13th.
“Playing at home comes with a lot of pressure, but the eagle on the third hole really calmed me down,” he said.
Mapwanya matched him stroke for stroke, going out in 33 with birdies on the 1st, 6th, 8th, and 9th. A birdie on 13 was offset by a bogey at 16, leaving him level with Nsanzuwera.
Just one shot behind are South Africa’s Haydn Porteous, Kenya’s John Wangai, Kenya’s Eric Ooko, and South Africa’s Travis Procter, all finishing at 3-under 69.
Porteous, a two-time DP World Tour champion and winner of the 2015 Kenya Open, played a composed round highlighted by precise driving and solid iron play.
“I would have liked to roll in a few more putts, but overall, it was a solid start,” he reflected.
Wangai, who started on the back nine, strung together three consecutive birdies on holes 1, 2, and 3 to fuel his charge, though late bogeys left him just short of the leaders.
“I stayed calm at the start, then found momentum on the back nine. It was a strong round, and I’m ready for tomorrow,” he said.
Rounding out the group at 2-under 70 are Kenya’s Daniel Nduva, Rwanda’s Ernest Ndayisenga, and Uganda’s Ronald Rugumayo, all well-positioned heading into Thursday’s second round.
The tournament is backed by SportsBiz Africa, Kenya Breweries Limited (Johnnie Walker), Kigali Golf Resort & Villas, and Pure Travel.
Only the top 30 and ties will progress to Friday’s decisive final round.
