Entries stream in for popular Uganda Open

At least 82 professionals have registered for this year’s Tusker Malt Lager sponsored Uganda Open scheduled for December 3 at the Uganda Golf Club course, Kampala.

Of those listed, Kenya as usual leads with the biggest entry of 33 players, while hosts Uganda has so far listed 24 players, though the list is likely to go up over the weekend when most of the players are expected to arrive in Kampala ready for registration.

Leading the Kenyan contingent is Mumias based Dismas Indiza who has won the Uganda Open six times.

Indiza, who will leaving for Kampala on Sunday, said he was more than ready for the event and would like to do at least two rounds on the challenging Uganda Golf Club course before the Open begins on Thursday.

Other pros in the Kenyan line-up include Kenya Railway Golf Club’s Samuel Njoroge, who will be making his debut in the event, which usual starts with the ladies edition, followed by the amateur championship.

Also in the Kenyan contingent will be Golf Park’s David Wakhu, who won the fourth leg of this year’s Safari Tour at Sigona Golf Club, Great Rift Valley Golf Resort’s Justus Madoya, Coast based Mathew Wahome, former champion David Odhiambo, and Jacob Okello, who awas born at the Uganda Golf Club, where his father,  senior pro Ben Okello, worked for many years as the club’s general manager.

And for the first time in the event’s history, five West African countries among them Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Code D’Ivoire and Senegal will be represented in the Open.

Of those, Cameroon has four players, while Nigeria will have three players who include Safari Tour's Andrew Oche Odoh, who in February managed to hold off Dismas Indiza, to claim the Kitante Open at the Uganda Golf Club course.

Meanwhile from the Southern African region, Zimbabwe has entered a strong team of 10 players which includes one of the popular Safari Tour player, Robson Chinhoi and a Sunshine Tour player Tongoona Charamba.

Chinhoi posted 279 to beat Samuel Njoroge by nine shots to claim the second leg of the Safari Tour at Royal Nairobi Golf Club in October.

Besides Zimbabwe, other Southern African countries being represented are South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, and Malawi.

Zambia has three players who include Uganda Open defending champion Madalitso Muthiya, who won the Open at the magnificent Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort, and probably one of the most experienced players in the entry list, having featured in the Sunshine Tour and other international events like the Masters and US Open.

The 37-year-old Muthiya, an alumni of the University of New Mexico in the USA who turned professional in 2006, will certainly be the man to beat at the Kitante course.

Also received are two entries from France, while the South Africa entry include that of former champion Joshua Seale. The Uganda Open returns to Kitante after a two year absence, having been held at Entebbe Golf Club in 2018 and at Lake Victoria Serena last year.