In ten days, the 83rd edition of Uganda Golf Open will tee off at the par-71 Entebbe Club in what promises to be four weeks of absorbing, captivating and enthralling golf at Uganda’s oldest club.
Last week, the Uganda Golf Union launched the prestigious tournament before a plethora of partners whose involvement and support has left golf aficionados licking their lips ahead of the opening tee shot.
Opening the show will be the Juniors whose championship has been codenamed as the Hisense Uganda Junior Open 2024 and will be backed by the China-based multinational major appliance and electronics giants. The Juniors competition, a one-day event, will be held on August 17.
Junior golfers from clubs all over the country must register with their captains to earn eligibility into the draw. There will be four categories in which youngsters will compete.
These are: gross for boys, gross for girls, net for boys and net for the girls.
For each group, there will be three sets of winners. The overall will walk home with a trophy and a 40-inch Hisense TV, the runner up a 32-inch Hisense TV while the second runner up will settle for a Hisense microwave.
Uganda Golf Union President Jackson Were is looking forward to the Juniors Open, with the same zest as for the ladies, seniors, amateurs and professionals.
“The Union’s dream is to offer the perfect ground for the next Deo Akope or Ronald Rugumayo to emerge and unlike those two distinguished professionals, the kids of today have arguably better exposure and support systems,” Were noted.
“It is why we must be deliberate about identifying, nurturing and supporting these kids because they are the future. And the future is now.”
Hisense Uganda MD Mingshu Liu says their company wants to give prominence and exposure to the young golfers in the country.
“We know that the children in this country don’t get the same following and support as the ones in China or Japan, but we are convinced that we can start from somewhere,” Liu explained.
During last year’s Uganda Open that was held at Uganda Golf Club at Kitante, Entebbe Club-based juniors Musa Kirya and Frista Birabwa emerged the best youngsters with gross scores of 74 and 76 for the boys and girls respectively.
Hisense’s selection of prizes fits in well with the mindsets of enthusiastic and determined youngsters who, if victorious, would have screens they can utilize smartly to enhance their golf knowledge, etiquette and techniques by watching the game played at the highest level.
