Uganda junior golfers gear up for the All-Africa Junior Golf Championship

Reagan Akena putts at the practice greens of Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort and Spa course | Photo Credit: Kawowo Sports

GOLF Uganda junior golfers gear up for the All-Africa Junior Golf Championship

Shafic Kiyaga 16:51 - 14.04.2023

This tournament offers an opportunity for the country's junior golfers to qualify for the Toyota World Cup, a feat that they accomplished in 2019 under the guidance of Coach Stephen Kasaija.

Excitement is building as Uganda prepares to host the All Africa Junior Golf Championship, from April 16-20, at the picturesque Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort and Spa.

This tournament offers an opportunity for the country's junior golfers to qualify for the Toyota World Cup, a feat that they accomplished in 2019 under the guidance of Coach Stephen Kasaija.

The All Africa Junior Championship is expected to attract participants from 15 countries, including Uganda's main rivals Botswana, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Zambia are also expected to compete in the tournament.

The Uganda team recently warmed up for the event by competing in the NCBA Uganda Junior Golf Open over the Easter break, where Reagan Akena and Pius Ochieng topped the U-18 and 13-14 categories, respectively.

Despite picking up awards, they know that they will need to improve over the next few days if they are to stand a chance of competing at the highest level.

The team’s coach, Flavia Namakula, is focused on helping the team adapt to the tricky and big greens, while Akena, one of Uganda’s top junior golfers, is determined to improve on his short game.

"I’m not satisfied with the scores because whenever I get to the course my aim is always to play under par, but these greens are tricky,” Akena told the New Vision.

“But this was a good workout ahead of national duty because we have been here for a week and this provided extra training for the event. I look forward to improving further on my short game."

Uganda Golf Union president, Moses Matsiko, expressed his excitement about hosting the event, stating that the championship is a crucial opportunity to measure the country's junior golf development program.

"In our strategic plan, the focus is on the development of juniors, and this tournament offers an opportunity to try out our juniors, our junior program techniques, and strategies and see how we prepare for this challenge and many more to come," Matsiko said.

Uganda will be represented by Reagan Akena, Pius Ochieng, Juma Abiti, Ibrahim Ssemakula, Abdu Kakeeto in the boys’ category

Winnie Musuya, Frista Birabwa, and Vivian Achen will compete for honours in the girls’ category.

Last year, Uganda finished fifth out of 12 countries in the boys' category, while the girls managed a seventh-place finish out of nine at the Palm Hills Golf Course in Cairo, Egypt.

While the goal this year is to win, the experience gained by the Ugandan junior golfers at this tournament is invaluable.

In 2019, Uganda’s junior team made their debut at the Toyota World Cup in Nagoya, and no other national junior team has managed to emulate them since after coming short in the African championship, which is the qualifier to the event.