Rwanda’s sole professional golfer Emmanuel Ruterana has started intensive training ahead of the Samsung Royal Swazi Sun open set for May 7-10 at Swazi Golf Club, Swaziland.

The 26-year old told Sunday Sport that he hopes to train harder and be able to do better in the lucrative Swazi Sun Open golf tournament.

"Am working hard to see if I can bag prize money in the event which will attract other continental professional golfers,” Ruterana said.

Ruterana goes into next month’s Sunshine tour scheduled tournament with an aim of staging a better performance to February’s tournament where he failed to make it to the final draw of the R2.4-million (approx. Frw 176m) Vodacom Championship in Pretoria.

Just like the Vodacom Championship, the Royal Samsung Swazi Sun Open is one of the events on the money-spinning Sunshine tour.

The Royal Swazi Open will celebrate its 36th anniversary at the Royal Swazi Sun Country Club and its third year under the sponsorship of global electronics giant Samsung which has boosted this year’s edition to a prize fund of R600, 000(approx. Frw. 42m).  

Ruterana must overcome South Africa’s, Des Terblanche who won last year’s edition of the Samsung Swazi Sun Open if he is to pocket any cash prize. In his debut season as a professional golfer, Ruterana won over Frw 2 millions worth of prize money.

Ruterana sponsored by BCR recorded his finest moment during last year’s Rwanda Open when he outscored Uganda’s Deo Akope and Kenya’s Richard Ainsley to bag a premium cash prize of Frw 540,000 courtesy of Tusker. Other contenders for this year’s edition include; 23-year old Chris Swanepoel and Andrew Curlewis.

Swanepoel claimed his maiden pro win at the Eskom Power Cup last year and went to win the Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour Western Cape title the same year. Also among the challengers at this magic age are Alex Haindl and Rookie Neil Schietekat.

Haindl, the winner of last year’s Sun coast Classic, finished fifth at Pecan wood and tied for 13th at Arabella, while Schietekat already boasts a fifth place finish at the Vodacom Championship, a third at the Finance Bank Zambia Open and a ninth at the Eskom Power Cup in just seven starts.

In a related development, the local golf club is yet to confirm the men’s national team participation in the Africa Zone six championships slated for Ndola, Zambia.

Ends