“Yesterday (Thursday) I turned level-par, then I had eight over in my back nine. I got my invite quite late and I wasn’t fully there mentally into the whole 18 holes so I struggled a bit but today (Friday) was a bit better but I made a lot of mistakes around the greens so I shot plus two today, I finished on overall +10,” said Kibugu. Kibugu finished the tournament on 10-over-par-154 with round scores of 80 and 74. This year’s edition was his third consecutive Zimbabwe Open appearance and he promised to return to his favourite course, Royal Harare, for more future events. However, he is unsure of what the future holds as there are not many tournaments being played in East Africa. “I love this golf course. It’s such an old fashioned golf course, you don’t need to lengthen it for it to be tough, it’s tough in general. It’s a short golf course but the greens are fast so it makes it a challenge. “I’m not sure right now (what the future looks like), it’s a bit tough, East Africa does not have many tournaments. This is my first tournament after Kenya Open. We will see what happens, I will try and plan and hopefully something comes up,” he said. Kibugu believes that lack of tournaments has been hindering the growth of the game in East Africa. He also stressed the lack of sponsorship which makes it difficult for players to travel and play in other countries. He said after a difficult period, he is starting to find his feet again. “Definitely (lack of tournaments keeping golf from growing in East Africa), there is not enough playing opportunities, not enough backing through sponsors so it’s tough for players to get out there and it’s not cheap to come down here to Zimbabwe. If we had more support and more tournaments you would definitely find more Kenyans. “I use my own resources to come here. As a playing pro, you have to have income, sometimes you have to teach even if it’s not your thing. Sometimes family (comes out to assist), and just other resources, save up money from other tournaments,” he said.