Singleton Challenge grows to Shs350m

Special moment. L-R; John Katto of Ekspresso, Serena Conference Sales Manager Racheal Kibalama, Pinnacle Security’s Grace Njeri ,Uganda Breweries’ Annette Nakiyaga, RwandAir Country Manager Ada Magezi, MultiChoice’s Tina Wamala, Entebbe Golf Club’s Innocent Kihika and Victoria Motors Ltd Sales and Marketing manager Paul Bazibwe at yesterday’s launch. PHOTO BY EDDIE CHICCO

What you need to know:

  • Golf. Pay television DStv will offer winners with Explora decoders and subscriptions of three months but the champions will take home a full-year premium package. Serena Hotels under Lake Victoria Kigo course will offer rounds of golf to different winners.

KAMPALA.

There were unique scenes and worthwhile experiences during every 19th hole episode of the inaugural edition of Singleton Match Play Challenge last year at Entebbe Golf Club.
From the coveted trip to watch the Open at the Royal Birkdale in England to the nights punctuated by themed dress codes, the memories not only stayed at Entebbe but with the golfing fraternity, too.
And it is only expected to blossom further when the second edition of this knock-out competition tees-off this Saturday at the par-71 course in Entebbe.
“This is going to be much bigger and better,” pledged tournament director Innocent Kihika promised during the press launch in Crane Hall at Serena Hotel Kampala yesterday.
Rightly so, the 2018 series looks to have grown already as Kihika unveiled a catalogue of sponsors headlined by Singleton who announced a sponsorship package of Shs350m for the seven episodes this year.

Runaway success
“Last year was a run-away success and this year, you’re going to see what has never happened in the history of golf in Uganda,” said Annette Nakiyaga, brand manager spirits Uganda Breweries Limited.
“We want people to dress their best right from the course to the 19th hole,” she noted while announcing unique prizes like best dressed golfer ahead of this weekend’s qualifier round themed ‘Caribbean Night’. The tournament has also stuck with other sponsors; Pinnacle Security and RwandAir, who will fly the winning pairing to the luxurious Jumeirah Golf Estates where they will feature in a fully-sponsored Pro-Am event in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Already 190 players have registered to compete for that grand prize and the pairings will compete on Saturday to sieve out the top 64 pairings that will compete on a knock-out basis.

Catalogue of sponsors
New sponsors Ekspresso will offer drinks at the half-way house while Victoria Motors have set a new Mitsubishi Pajero Sport worth $65,000 for the hole-in-one contest.
Pay television DStv will offer winners with Explora decoders and subscriptions of three months but the champions will take home a full-year premium package.
Serena Hotels under Lake Victoria Kigo course will offer packaged rounds of golf to different winners.

ABOUT THE SINGLETON CHALLENGE

Bigger and better. The Singleton Challenge was inaugurated in January 2017 at Entebbe Golf Club and was designed to encourage golfers around Kampala to play on courses out of the city, and at the Entebbe Golf Course in particular. Sponsored by The Singleton single malt whisky, the challenge is played under the match play four-ball better-ball format. More than 120 players took part in the first edition, which lasted six months and was held in a series of tournaments played every month. The winning pair from every month advance to next stage until the challenge grand finale. Isaac Mariera and John Muchiri won the inaugural edition of the all encompassing challenge.