Uganda Civil Aviation Authority injects 10 Million Shs in golf tournament as part of activities for this year’s Aviation week

KAMPALA - Event: Seniors Open Golf Championship
Date: Saturday, 3rd December 2022
Venue: Uganda Golf Club

Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) has launched the 2022 Seniors Open Golf Championship scheduled for Saturday, 3rd December at Uganda Golf Club (UGC) in Kitante, Kampala and is the flagship event to mark this year’s Aviation Week that runs from 1st to 7th December.

UCAA who are the main sponsors of the senior’s event, together with Uganda Senior Golfers Society (USGS) launched the showpiece on Tuesday 29th November 2022 at Uganda Golf Club and have injected in Shs10m.

The inaugural edition of the Seniors Golf Open last year was to provide awareness to the society that one can play golf even beyond the age of 50 years. 150 players took part in the two-day event last year at the par-72 course in Kitante.

“The Seniors Open Golf Championship is a flagship event to celebrate Aviation Week. We are giving back to senior golfers because they are frequent users of our facilities especially at Entebbe International Airport and across the country. It is also part of our Corporate Social Responsibility activities which are centered around health and sports,” Vianney M. Luggya who is the Manager Public Affairs at UCAA said.

Meanwhile, the Rwabushenyi Memorial Chess Championship is another event that will be happening during the Aviation Week. Other activities are lined up for the same.

Sam Onek who is the Chairman of USGS noted that they (seniors) are heading into the tournament in a somber mood because they lost one of their members, Billy Patrick a while ago. He was honored at the press launch with a moment of silence.

He added that; “Our cardinal objective as USGS is to promote the game of golf amongst seniors. We do so through clubs including upcountry clubs. We organize tournaments for seniors throughout the country and that’s one of the ways we keep in touch.”

“The Seniors Open Golf Championship is always organized in the first week of December to celebrate Aviation Week since Uganda Civil Aviation Authority is our main sponsor. This is the most prestigious competition after the Uganda Open.”

Meanwhile, Uganda Seniors Golfing Society (USGS) chairman Jackson Karyaruboowe said “We want to grow the game further”. “It will improve all of us,” Karyaruboowe’s vice-chairman Mark Ntege said of the tournament.

Initially, this tournament used to be held in two days but this time round it will happen in one day. This is because Covid-19 has affected USGS financially and they have had to cut down their budget.

On Saturday, seniors (golfers aged 55 years and above) will play in the main competition while players below 55 years will play in a subsidiary event. Both categories will win prizes. Mode of play is Medal.

However, in the previous edition, the men’s overall winner in the seniors main event was Kaka Matama off 68 nett while Jovia Otim emerged ladies’ overall winner with 71 nett.

Gross overall winners were Sam Zaramaba (men), who triumphed with 81 gross on count back and Monica Ntege (ladies) with 89 gross. Other tournament partners are; Uganda Breweries Limited, Turkish Airlines, Uganda Airlines, Crown Beverages Limited, Pinnacle Security, Case Clinic, Fairway Hotel and Safari Trackers, Bwindi.