The annual Singleton Match Play Challenge is back. Season 7 of the showpiece that always happens at Entebbe Club was launched on Monday, 17th July at Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL) factory and head office in Portbell, Luzira.
Season 7 will tee-off on Saturday, 22nd July at the club’s par-71 lakeside golf course. This will be a qualifying round and traditionally it attracts a large number of pairs for the main event. The season finale will happen on 2nd December and it will be the seventh outing (seventh round) of the campaign.
At the press launch in Luzira, UBL through the award-winning Single Malt Scotch Whisky brand, Singleton injected UGX 250 Million into the tournament.
“We are very excited to be here. We are very excited to be part of this partnership as we tee-off Season 7 of the Singleton Match Play Challenge. We have been down this road for six years now…we are very excited to be part of this experience. When Singleton meets golf you know it will be good,” Christine Kyokunda, Brand Manager for Singleton at UBL said.
UBL through their Singleton Whisky brand is the tournament lead sponsor. The partners are; Uganda Airlines, DSTV, NCBA, CFAO Motors and Afrisafe.
“As the Singleton Match Play Challenge has grown, more people have become part of it, not just golfers but also different partners getting interested in the game, that shows that it has been progressive and adventurous and more people are willing to come on board so that’s exciting,” Kyokunda added.
Eunice Waweru, UBL’s Finance Director, added her sentiments, expressing the Singleton and UBL’s collective joy towards the revamp of the highly anticipated golf series.
“Over the years, this partnership has evolved into what I like to refer to as the Singleton family—a bond forged through incredible golf and unparalleled camaraderie. For us, this marks a continuation of that legacy, and we eagerly await the future of the Singleton Challenge,” she remarked.
Robert Nsibirwa, the UBL Marketing Manager Spirits, reiterated Eunice’s statement, emphasizing the organization’s commitment towards growing the game of golf; “The Singleton in its purest form prides itself in crafting first impressions, to make lasting ones, something that the series has been able attain. As UBL, we are immensely proud of the tournament and experience The Singleton Challenge has become. So, as the Singleton meets golf for season 7, we promise that it’s going to be good. Let’s create some more memorable moments together, as we shape the future of golf,” he said
In the past, the tournament used to run from January to July but this year it will run from July to December with August hosting two rounds.
“We were not ready with our sponsors so we pushed it forward in order to give the golfers a better experience than they had before. We always want to give the best so we had to make sure we arrange this so that it will be a good experience for both our golfers and sponsors,” Entebbe Club Captain, Seruwano Walusimbi said.
“Match Play format is exciting and it’s a good challenge for our golfers and they always love it,” Walusimbi noted adding that Entebbe Club is a destination for golfers in Uganda as they are guaranteed of a good time both on the greens and at the 19th hole. He also thanked sponsors who have made the Season 7 a reality.
After the qualifying round, other subsequent rounds follow, that is; round one on 12th August, round two on the 26th August, round three on 9th September, round four on 7th October, while the semifinals and the finales will take place on 18th November and 2nd December respectively.
Partners’ offers
CFAO Motors
This Saturday’s qualifying round has been spiced up by a hole-in-one offer (a brand new car) by CFAO Motors. Isaac Tegule who is the Marketing Manager at the company revealed that there will be another hole-in-one prize during the season finale in December.
“We hope that someone takes the car and not us taking it back to the bond,” Tegule said adding that; “Singleton Match Play Challenge attracted our attention because of its uniqueness. We also want to foster our relationship with our stakeholders and clients.”
NCBA
NCBA who have been on board as partners for a while now have injected UGX 30 Million to this year’s campaign. Olga Biribinwa who is the Acting Head of Corporate Banking at NCBA noted that NCBA Group is passionate about golf and they intend to support the sport in various ways.
DStv
DStv Uganda who have been on board for the past three years are still around. This year, they have offered UGX 25 Million and will be familiarizing golfers with DStv Business, a product which takes one’s customer experience to the next level with premium entertainment, action-packed sports and up-to-minute news in gorgeous HD.
“We are excited about this and we believe that together with Entebbe Club, we can grow the game of golf,” Henry Muwaga, Head DStv for Business said adding that they’ll also be giving out goodies at the 19th hole.
Uganda Airlines
According to Sylvia Kaggwa, Sales Manager at Uganda Airlines, Uganda Airlines will be giving out six air tickets to their destinations. The offers are for the podium finishers of the main event.
2022 recap
Meanwhile, Patrick Ndase and his golfing partner Philemon Akatuhurira won the previous edition after triumphing in the final of the main event held on 9th July 2022.
Dubbed the ‘P Squad’ Ndase and Akatuhurira beat an all-male team of Joram Tumwine and Julius Borore 1up to hoist the title that came along with exciting prizes. The 1up win was the longest round Ndase and Akatuhurira had played in the championship having won their previous games with some kind of ease right from January (that year) during the qualifying round.
ln the professionals category of the 2022 edition, Silver Opio beat Ronald Rugumayo 1up to claim the biggest chunk of the UGX15M purse.
Singleton Match Play Challenge Past Winners (main event)
2022: Philemon Akatuhurira/Patrick Ndase
2021: Wasn’t completed (Covid-19 Lockdown)
2020: Innocent Nahabwe/Adoch Luwum
2019: Richard Lutwama/Robert Busingye
2018: Peace Kabasweka/Sheila Kesiime
2017: Isaac Mariera/John Muchiri.
