National golf team leaves for Zone V championships

The Uganda national amateur golf team leaves for Zambia today to try and better their third place finish and or even win the Zone V Africa Golf Championships on foreign soil for the first time.

Last year, Uganda playing under a new format and as a guest team fielding on four players, finished third overall in Swaziland behind South Africa and this year's hosts Zambia.

A team of two players, Becca Mwanja and junior golfer Dennis Asaba fly out today to join the South Africa based pair of Ronald Otile and Daniel Baguma for the four-day tournament at the Nkana Golf Club.

Captain Mwanja and Asaba who is fresh from competing at the Africa Junior Golf Championship are the new faces on the team that will miss the experience of Adolf Muhumuza who was dropped.

Team manager John Katto and Coach Amos Kamya are leaders of the team that is looking to wrestle the trophy from record winners and defending champions South Africa.

South Africa has won the tournament outright since its inception with the exception of 1998 when the team tied with Zimbabwe in Swaziland but won on a count out of holes up.

Kenya, who won in Botswana in 2010, briefly interrupted their clean sweep with Uganda also winning on home soil in 2015.

The Ugandans became the third country to win Africa's premier golfing event behind South Africa and Kenya who won in 2010.

The participating countries include Swaziland, defending champions Uganda, Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.