Saturday 6 October 2018

220 golfers battle for Serena Johnnie Walker Open glory

A golfer tees off at the magnificent Lake Victoria Serena course
that will be inaugurated today.

Kigo, Uganda | LOUIS JADWONG | Two hundred and twenty golfers will tee off today as Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort & Spa holds its inaugural tournament.

 The main event of the Serena Johnnie Walker Golf Open 2018, an 18 hole contest for amateur golfers, is the climax of four days of golf that started with a professionals 54-hole-contest that ended on Friday.

 Phillip Kasozi came from four strokes behind favourite Fred Wanzala to win the professional category. He carded 222, including the only under-par score of 70, with Wanzala three strokes behind.

 Wanzala's waterloo was hole number 16 when he hit the water hazard, carded 6 as Kasozi got 3 and marched to victory.

 If anything, the water hazards will test the 220 golfers who tee off today, many of them facing the challenge for the first time.  Add to that, the skies have opened up.


The list of entrants is a "who is who" of Ugandan golf, from former presidents of the Uganda Golf and Ladies Union, current and past club presidents and captains across the country, diplomats, business leaders... to some champion golfers. There are 28 trophies lined up.

 Golfers will tee off simultaneously from hole 1 and ten.

Serena's tournament partners are Johnnie Walker, Barclays, DSTV, PEPSI, AfriSafe, Victoria Motors.

 *******

 FULL DRAW
Jw Serena Draw 3 by on Scribd


A history of Serena Golf Resort & Spa

Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort & Spa, located to the south of Kampala in Uganda, just recently completed a second nine holes on its golf course designed by Kevin Ramsey of Golfplan, reports golfcoursearchitecture.net.

The resort began working with Golfplan in 2008, with construction of the first nine holes beginning at the end of 2009. Work on the second nine began in 2016 and will officially be opened at this inaugural Serena Johnnie Walker Golf Open Championship.

“The holes that were completed in the first phase were a mix of front and back nine holes,” said Ramsey in an interview with golfcoursearchitecture.net

The 18th hole at the par 72 Kigo golf course.


He told golfcoursearchitecture.net that “There is no difference in style, we are just pushing on to the far end of the site. The key feature of the entire site is the proximity and view to Lake Victoria. Visible on all holes and in play on three including both finishing holes."

Ramsey, who will be one of several guests at the launch on Saturday, says the course is a unique gem.

“This is a very unique one-of-a-kind golf facility in the sense that access to the marina is between the ninth and eighteenth holes. I can’t think of anywhere in the world where I have seen anything like this. The course is very natural in its feel and meanders through the site and down to the papyrus groves on the lake."

According to golfcoursearchitecture.net , the resort is owned and has been developed by Kenyan-based contracting company Cementers, and of its CEO, Kartick Halai.

“The Lake Victoria Serena golf course is one of the most beautiful courses in the region, we could not be prouder to have it on our property and simply cannot wait to be positioned as the best golf and spa resort in Africa,” Anthony Chege, general manager of Serena Hotels Uganda, told golfcoursearchitecture.net

“There really is nothing like it. Serene and peaceful,” concluded Ramsey.

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