The Pearl of Africa tournament is shaping up nicely. Ronald Rugumayo is in town and still winning, but Grace Kasango has shown that he is not intimidated by the prospect of lining up against Rugumayo.
And then there are the likes of Rodell Gaita Taddeo, David Kamulindwa, and Philip Kasozi, all lurking in the shadows. Ugandan professional golf is suddenly coming to life. Recent tournaments have been exhilarating, galleries have grown, and the UPGA is feeling reborn.
“We think that we have made great progress, and a more definitive announcement will be made in due course,” POA chairman Edward Nyatia said yesterday.
“The ultimate idea is that we want to attract the best golfers in Uganda and the region so that we offer the best competition for the fans and attractive packages for the pros.”
The next Pearl of Africa tournament will be held shortly after the Uganda Golf Open. Clearly, the top professional golfers will all be raring to go.
What will make the next competition different is a new twist: the POA team will have the Sunshine Development Tour and BET Tour on board.
Talks between the parties have been ongoing for more than a year and, by all accounts, the negotiations are looking promising ahead of the opening tee.
The inaugural POA-SUNDEV event will be played at the par-71 Entebbe Sports Club between September 16 and 19, 2026. The tournament will be launched on Wednesday this week.
Among other additions, there will be a fan village setup at the 19th hole of the competition. Started early last year, the Pearl of Africa Golf Series has grown by leaps and bounds.
The series was designed to help enhance the competition calendar while offering elite amateurs and professionals a chance to compete regularly at the country’s finest courses all year round.
Last year, events were held at Entebbe, Uganda Golf Club, and Lugazi Golf Hills & Country Club. The inaugural professional champions were Marvin ‘Max’ Kibirige, Herman ‘Deco’ Mutebi, and Rugumayo.
This year, Kasango secured victory in Entebbe after spectacularly holding off a spirited challenge from Kasozi in what was a spine-tingling duel at the par-71 course.
POA founder Juliet Anena, meanwhile, reiterated that the organization will not tire in its vision to marry golf and sports tourism in the country. “Our plan is to give the whole package,” Anena revealed.
“We want to use elite golf to promote Uganda, but we also want to leverage various opportunities in Uganda to support the development of golf in the best ways we can. We want a win-win for the sport and the Pearl of Africa.”
