Stanbic Bank turns Entebbe Match Play blue with Shs500m

The Entebbe Golf Club (EGC) Match-Play Championship has withstood a tricky spell. It was nearly buried by the coronavirus pandemic but then rose again.

Early this week, EGC chairman Jacob Byamukama and captain Serwano Walusimbi announced a change of look for the country’s biggest clubhouse knockout tournament.

The tournament’s colours will change from green and brown to blue after they announced Stanbic Bank as the new sponsor. The previous seven seasons had been bankrolled by Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL) under the brand Singleton.

“We want to thank UBL who were with us for seven seasons. They are our official alcoholic drinks partner. UBL is still with us during this Challenge,” explained Byamukama during the Season VIII launch on Wednesday afternoon.

“Singleton has left behind a big legacy. As we have been developing through the seasons, we’ve been able to grow this brand across the different affiliated clubs in the country. The reach is so far. And Stanbic is also everywhere in the country,” he added.

Stanbic Bank takeover has come with a Shs500m-peg for three years and, an increment in stiff competition on course and vibe at the 19th Hole prize-giving ceremonies is anticipated.  

“We believe this is a start of a partnership that will bring many more rewards,” announced Stanbic Executive Head of Private & Personal Banking Sam Mwogeza. “We passionately believe in golf, we passionately believe in anything that improves the lives of our customers.”

“As Stanbic, one of the things that we are very passionate about is enabling the creation of wealth across our clients. And elevating that message around connecting, networking, coming together, creating opportunities to create partnerships, we have a lot of exciting things on offer that are coming up on this journey and building on the legacy from the previous partner,” he added.

The championship which is played in pairings also has DStv for business on board with a cash contribution of Shs25m annual package and Shs40m in prizes, according to Multichoice’s Ida Bagaya.

Uganda Airlines will fly the winning pairing to Dubai, UAE, the runner-up combo to Zanzibar, Tanzania while bronze medallists will travel to Mombasa, Kenya after the October 12 final.

Meanwhile, Cfao Motors will stake a brand Toyota Land cruiser for hole-in-one prizes for the qualifying round next weekend and on the final day.

The qualifying round is expected to attract more than 100 pairings of which the best 64 will enter round one on April 16. 

The 2023 champions are Richard Mucunguzi and Saidi Kirarira but no pairing in history has retained this title.

STANBIC ENTEBBE MATCH-PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

TOURNAMENT NOTEBOOK

Edition: 8th

Venue: Par-71 Entebbe Course

Field: 400 players

Platinum Sponsor: Stanbic Bank

Gold Sponsors: DStv for business, Uganda Airlines, Cfao Motors

SEASON VIII ITINERARY

Mar 16: Qualifying round

Apr 16: Round One (64 Pairings)

May 11: Round Two (32 Pairings) 

Jun 15: Round Three (16 Pairings)

Jul 6: Quarterfinals (8 Pairings)

Sept 14: Semi-finals

Oct 12: Final

SEASON VII SINGLETON CHALLENGE

FINAL: Richard Mucunguzi & Saidi Kirarira bt Joseph Bogera & Kenneth Kiddu 3/2

3RD PLACE PLAY-OFF: Serwano Walusimbi & Peter Magona bt Micheal Odur & Brian Manyindo 1-up (2nd s/d)

CAST OF EGC MATCH-PLAY CHALLENGE WINNERS 

2023: Richard Mucunguzi & Saidi Kirarira

2022: Patrick Ndase & Philemon Akatuhurira

2021: Not Completed (Covid-19)

2020: Innocent Nahabwe & Luwum Adoch

2019: Richard Lutwama & Robert Busingye

2018: Sheila Kesiime & Peace Kabasweka

2017: Isaac Mariera & John Muchiri