The concept of the Katogo Invitational Golf Series had really humble beginnings and it was only until April that the tournament came to life at Entebbe Club.
After the first quarterly leg played in April, the tournament bankrolled by I&M Bank unearthed new opportunities for the club and competition level.
“There’s a lot of history relating to this tournament and the Katogo golfing fraternity,” said team Katogo captain Hannington Mpiima.
Katogo is a clubhouse franchise name derived from a group of players at Entebbe who would always order for the ‘katogo’ meal after a round. Katogo has patrons in Kiryowa ‘K.K’ Kiwanuka and Edward Kabuchu and they have a membership of 87 players.
Their rival franchise is Kabalaza, derived from the verandah which other players would share on the side of the clubhouse adjacent to the Entebbe State House.
With innovative formats of play in place, the tournament will now serve better when the third leg tees off on September 30 after the tournament organisers announced new partners on board.
Merca Limited, who distribute vehicles from Victoria Motors as well as Rwandair were yesterday unveiled as I&M Bank’s new partners for the next leg at the par-71 course.
“As anchor sponsors, we have worked day and night to give the Katogo Series the befitting standards it deserves. It is why we are happy to welcome new sponsors and we want to assure them that they could not have made a better choice,” remarked acting I&M Bank managing director Sam Ntulume during the ceremony at their head offices.
Merca, in partnership with GA Insurance, has staked a new Renault car for a new hole-in-one competition prize on a soon-to-be-selected par-3 Hole No.2, No.6, No.8, No.12 or No.16.
“This is the car with some of the best specifications you can think about and we hope that someone will take it and not us returning it to the bond,” said Merca’s brand manager Fred Wambi.
Yet, Rwandair is back at Entebbe with air tickets for winners to selected cities among their 69 global destinations. “We believe that we have come at the right time and we believe that we shall continue to be part of this tournament,” RwandAir-Uganda sales manager Peter Kamuti.
A field of more than 100 players is expected at the end of the month. “We expect the event to be well attended and we believe this will give visibility to our sponsors,” said Entebbe club captain Serwano Walusimbi.TOURNAMENT NOTEBOOK
Name: Katogo Invitational Golf Series
Famous teams: Katogo, Kabalaza
Annual Legs: 4 (Quarterly)
Next Leg date: September 30
Mode of play: ‘Call Your Shots’
