The cream of the golfing community gathers this Saturday at Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort and Spa as the esteemed Serena 63 Golf Series quarterly event returns with the revered August Mug of Mugs event.
This colourful event powered by I&M Bank, since the series teed off in March, gives both participants and enthusiasts another opportunity to revel in a round of golf with great giveaways and prizes to be won.
The meet will also serve the second quarterly order of merit competition.
Highly rated and tagged as one of the region’s most coveted amateur golfing series, the event comes with a lot of expectation. It captures imagination and fuses sport with lifestyle to give stakeholders a full dream package both on and off the greens.
The previous round (quarter one event) held in May was a full house with a number reputable faces showing up, competing and walking away with awards from three categories. These included the Quarterly Order of Merit, Members Order of Merit, and Mug of Mugs podium, on top of guest winners. Such rewards fuel the unwavering passion for the sport through the 40-week period it runs.
For most golfers, Saturday tables another opportunity to embark on a journey of dedication and skill. Participants are faced with the task of completing a minimum of 36 18-hole rounds of golf. The tough journey on the club’s par-72 lakeside course calls for resilience from golfers.
Getting the job done comes with rewards from I&M Bank whose slogan reads “We are on your side,” preaching the bank’s proven solidarity with the game.
“We stretch beyond putting prizes in place, we try to go out of our way in every way possible to ensure this competition scales the greatest of heights. As we continue to ensure this turns out be the best golfing experience in the country, it’s also an opportunity to practically engage our customers as we deliver on I&M Bank’s purpose of empowering prosperity, with the aim of transforming lives across the region,” said Annette Nakiyaga, Head of Marketing & Corporate communications at I&M Bank.
Last quarter’s winners included Basa Bose, who won the nearest to the pin prize, George Nkya who walked away with the longest drive award, as well as Jordan Van Rooyen, the juniors’ category winner. Charles Hamya soared above the rest in the guests’ group with 39points, while Maria Odido won the ladies’ category with 30 points.
Ronnie Kasirye won the Men’s Group A with 33 points, while Innocent Nahabwe bossed the Men’s Group B with 30 points. The biggest winner on the day was Leenah Halai who was the last man standing to emerge the Men’s overall winner in the Mug of Mugs.
Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort and Spa club professional, Boniface Simwa says that the series has seen lots of improvements in both performance and numbers.
“Compared to the first quarter event, we have had quite a number of rounds improve because of the pressure and people are getting to know how the series is going. There’s a bit of pressure amongst players and the series is now getting competitive and tough so we are expecting good results from the participants,” Simwa said.
“We have had few new entrants and they’re equally doing well, they’re really pushing and are putting in more rounds. Some of the new entrants asked to be considered for the second and third quarter because they were not around in the first quarter,” Simwa added.
Ahead of the weekend event, Simwa notes that; “it’s gonna be fun. There’ll be lots of prizes and entertainment for the participants. There’ll be Captain’s Corner Prize as one of the prizes to be won.”
This year’s event scored big by partnering with I&M Bank, Uganda and its Kenyan counterpart. This will see winners of the Serena 63 Golf series, to be announced in December, granted the privilege of getting up close with golfers in the highly sought-after I&M tournament in Kenya.
