2023 draft calendar gives Ugandan golfers more World Amateur Ranking events

The Uganda Open Golf tour tournaments that build up to the biggest golfing showpiece in the country — the Uganda Open are back on the golfing calendar after a three-year absence.

The events that are held at various golf courses throughout the country were suspended in 2020 following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic the previous year. Efforts were on to have them before last year’s Uganda Open but the organisers opted for a fresh start, the reason they have been reinstated on the draft golf calendar released by the Uganda Golf Union (UGU) recently.

According to the calendar, this year’s tours will start at the West Nile Golf Club in Arua on January 28 before they head to Fort Portal during the Venus Open on February 25. The tours will then head to the Mbale Sports Club (Elgon Hotel) and the Mehta Golf Clubs on March 4 and March 18 respectively.

The tours are aimed at awakening the game in those particular regions as well as offering support to the host clubs, and promoting domestic tourism.

In addition to the tours, many of the open events at the various clubs will act as World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) events.

As usual, the local club events tee off with the popular Singleton Golf Challenge (Season-7) qualifier at Entebbe Club on January 14 before the two-day Mbarara Open on January 27-28.

The Entebbe Ladies Open will headline events in March, in addition to Singleton’s second round, the ladies' national team qualifiers, as well as the Lady Captain’s Prize and Absa opens at Kitante and Tooro clubs respectively.

Jackson Were reacts to his putt during the 2022 Equity Open at Tooro Club. Photo by Michael Nsubuga

The Inter-Region Championships are planned for April, just like the Mbale Ladies Open and the Serena Junior’s Open; the four-round All-Africa Junior Team Championship, the Kitante Open that also doubles as a Safari Tour event, Singleton’s Round 3 and the Tana Memorial tournament at the Tororo Golf Club.

In May, golfers will head to the west for the Mayombo and the Galahad Opens at the Tooro and Kilembe Mines Golf Club in Kasese, while June is also reserved for upcountry courses, for the Equity Rwenzori Open, Tororo Open, West Nile Open and the Mbale Open’s spread over different weekends, in between the Singleton challenge on June 10.

Apart from the JBG Seniors Open at Tooro Club, July and August are reserved for Uganda Ladies Golf Union (ULGU) events that include the Kasese Juniors Open, Namulonge Ladies Open, Lira Ladies Open, and the UGC Ladies Open. Kabale Sports Club will also host the inaugural Rukundo Open on August 21, before they host the Kabale

Several club events are spread over different courses in September including the Coffee Cup in Mbale, Equity-NARO Open at Namulonge, Lira Open and the Tusker Malt Open at Tooro Club.

The month of October is reserved for the five-in-one Uganda Open events ranging from the juniors', seniors', ladies', amateurs' and professionals' events.

The Namulonge Equity Open, Kinyara, Mbarara Ladies, Kakira, Open in Jinja and the Mukwano Open in Fort Portal are some of the events to look out for in November while the Serena Open which is also a Safari Tour event is the biggest event in December where the Seniors Open and the White Horse Open in Kabale are also lined up.