Uganda vows to reclaim Region IV Golf Championship in Kigali

Uganda national golf team captain Joseph Cwinyaai has declared that the team he leads to the fifth edition of the Region IV Golf Championship is good enough to reclaim the trophy they last won in 2019.

Cwinyaai who is the only surviving member of the team that won then, was speaking to the media on Monday, before the team was flagged off for the championship due at the Kigali Golf Resort and Villas, October 4-6.

Cwinyaai will represent the country alongside reigning Uganda Open champion Joseph Akena, Joseph Kasozi, and Ibrahim Ssemakula, a junior golfer but who has gained enough experience with the team.

Paul Habyarimana will manage coach Coach Flavia Namakula’s charges who have won the event back-to-back in

“As a team we are ready, my players are in good form, they are talented and experienced which is what this tournament calls for,” Cwinyaai said.

“I’m the most experienced on this team but so is Kasozi who has gained lots of experience with the national team. Akena has of late undergone R&A training which has transformed his game and he won the Uganda Open Ssemakula has both junior and senior team experience so I can assure you that we are going to win this championship,” Cwinyaai vowed.

“I never lose whenever I’m on the team. I either win or learn from the experience because losing is not part of my DNA but winning is,”

He said the team was happy and well-facilitated by the Uganda Golf Union and was ready to display a great performance.

Namakula said the team was selected on merit based on the points from the tournaments they have been playing.

“The team is prepared and has been in camp since Saturday and trained at the Lake Victoria Serena course because it is almost similar to the Kigali course so I can say we are ready. Our focus has been on the short game because that is where the game is won and the Kigali course is short,” Namakula stated.

The team was flagged off to the championship by UGU vice president Anthony Agaba who also exuded optimism about Uganda winning it for the third time.

Seven countries including Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and new entrants Mauritius and Seychelles will vie for the championship that embraces a ranking round before the top two fight it out for the tournament.

Last year the championship was determined on stroke play.

Uganda won the inaugural edition at Nyali Golf Club after a 3-0 points win over Rwanda in 2018 before retaining it the following year in Bujumbura after a 2.5-0.5 points victory over Kenya at the par-71 Bujumbura Golf Club course.

But it is Kenya that has since won the last two editions at the Lake Victoria Serena in 2022 and in Ethiopia last year.