The first group of four amateur golfers set off this morning to Nairobi, Kenya to participate in the 2023 Magical Kenya Open as part of a wider group being sponsored by Absa Bank Uganda.
The four are Harry Hakiza, Angelo Wasike, Andrew Arinaitwe and Raymond Ekwamu, who will join Allan Mugisha and Ronald Rugumayo – who are already in Kenya. Rugumayo is the only Ugandan professional participating in the tournament.
The group is part of a larger contingent of players from the 2022 Absa Pro-Am golf tournament, which formed part of the Uganda Golf Open, being sponsored by the bank toparticipate in the tournament in Nairobi.
Local sports journalists – Innocent Ndawula (Daily Monitor), Sam Mpoza (NTV) and Michael Nsubuga (New Vision) will also be travelling as part of the Ugandan contingent to cover the tournament.
While seeing off the players at a brief ceremony held at Absa Bank Uganda’s head office yesterday, David Wandera, Absa’s Executive Director and Head of Markets, said, “Uganda’s golf scene is growing at a very commendable rate and as the bank that is committed to furthering this growth, it is an honour to see more amateurs step up to the plate and take on opportunities to improve their games through participating in internationally recognised tournaments like the Magical Kenya Open.”
He added that this is the second year that the bank is sponsoring players to participate in the tournament and is part of Absa Bank Uganda’s commitment to contributing to the development of the sport and to fostering the growth and development of Ugandans.
The Magical Kenya Open – which was launched in 1967 and is sponsored by Absa Bank Kenya – has become one of Africa’s premier golf attractions and is now part of the European Golf Tour, which is a top attraction for some of the best golfers from around the world and is played across 31 tournaments in 21 countries globally.
