THE PROFESSIONAL trio of Jean Baptiste Hakizimana, Emmanuel Ruremesha and Ernest Ndayisenga are holding intensive preparations at Kigali golf club ahead of the 2014 Rwanda Golf Open scheduled for July 2.

Speaking to Times Sport on Wednesday, Hakizimana said, "We are in the final stage of our final preparations for the Rwanda Golf Open. We have high hopes of putting up a good show although we expect a big challenge from other elite regional golfers.”

"We are training well and assessing each other’s performances on a daily basis. From what we have demonstrated, we believe there is a good chance for us to keep the trophy at home,” added Rwanda’s number one pro golfer.

The 2014 edition of Rwanda Golf Open is set to attract 50 professional golfers and close to 100 amateur golfers.

Last year, Ruterana successfully defended his crown in the professional category and eyes will be on him next month as he seeks to win his fifth Rwanda Golf Open title since turning a pro in 2005.

Hakizimana and Ndayisenga finished in second and third positions respectively.  Aphrodis Nyirinkwaya won the amateur category ahead of Uganda’s Willy Kitata and Rwandan Jules Mutesa.