Zambia's Muthiya returns for the Uganda Golf Open

Last year's Tusker Malt Lager professionals' winner Zambia's Madlisto Muthiya is set to challenge for another victory when he returns to play in the Uganda Open on August 31 to September 3.

Muthiya who walked away with the biggest share of the sh100m prize money (sh22m) is currently preparing for the Sunshine Tour in South Africa and is coming off another victory at the BMW Open in the same country.

Last year, Madalitso recorded a 5 under par 67 in the first and third rounds to win the Tusker Malt Uganda Open Professionals title at Kitante Golf Course with 283 gross aggregate.

But amateur golfer Ronald Otile topped the event a stroke better with 282 gross though he was not eligible for a share of the money.

"Madalitso is currently one of the best Tour Golf Players on the continent. His swing and ability to read the game of golf to work in his favor makes him a beauty to watch. He is the defending champion and he will be very interesting to watch as he tries to defend his trophy." Johnson Omolo the UGU president contends.

But he will once again be up against a determined and ever improving field of Ugandans led by Deo Akope who recently beat the rest to the Mbarara Open title.

"I am not particularly shaken by his presence. I have seen his game and I can imagine what to expect. However, I can't rule out any surprises. Even if he won last year, it is no guarantee that he will do the same this year round. I play on the Kitante course more often and I can officially say; he will have fierce competition this time round." Akope who missed the cut last year vowed.

Tusker Malt Lager has increased the professionals' purse this year by sh10m taking the total prize money to sh110m while an additional sh270m as none cash sponsorship has also been injected into the open, taking the total sponsorship kit up to sh500m.

"Having a professional player like Madalitso Muthiya take part in the Tusker Malt Uganda Open is a great value addition for us. This shows the improvement in standards of our Open and it shows that we are on the right path to achieve our goal of making it one of the most sought after tours on the Africa Golf calendar year." Said; Mr. Mark Mugisha, Head of Beer and Ready to Drink Spirits at Uganda Breweries Limited.
The amateurs will set the event in motion on August 10-13.