Teenagers Thierry Ntaganda and Jean Baptiste Hakizimana are hot favorites to win this year’s BCR Mug of Mugs golf tourney, which is on today at Kigali Golf Club, Nyarutarama. Ntaganda (15) and Hakizimana (18) won seven monthly mug tournaments between themselves in eleven attempts, which puts them ahead of the rest on the list of top contenders. Hakizimana (handicap +2) who is also Rwanda’s top amateur golfer collected three honors while Ntaganda collected four monthly mug honors to go down in the Rwanda’s gold record books not only as not only the first golfer to claim four consecutive mug honors but the also youngest. Ntaganda who started competitive play in April rose to the limelight in June when he claimed his first honors and has not looked back since. Though his low handicap (21) could not allow him contend in the main event during last Sunday’s MTN Golf tournament, Ntaganda is fully focused at today’s event. “For me, it is an honor that I’m going to play against the best golfers in the country. I’m going to approach tomorrow’s event (Saturday) the same way I did in previous monthly mug competitions. “I know that the event is going to bring the best out of everybody but I won’t let that bother me,” Ntaganda coolly admitted. Meanwhile, Hakizimana who squandered his chances for an honor at this year’s MTN golf tournament has been glued at the course since Monday. “I have been focusing on my game since Monday. I played well last weekend but I was just unfortunate not to win because of my carelessness. Every golfer would love to win the Mug of Mugs and I’m certainly having a go at it,” he confidently said. Other capable contenders include: This category comprises seasoned golfers including Rajan Tiwari who won last Sunday’s MTN Golf tournament, Marcel Byusa, Andrew Nkwandi, Jack Kayonga and Steven Katuremu. History of competition Mug of mugs is an annual event that was incepted last year during the inaugural BCR monthly mug season and serves as a climax for the BCR monthly mug calendar. The one-day competition merges golfers who excelled during the season. “Mug of mugs is a competition that is specially organized for golfers who finished in the top three positions during the season,” the Kigali Golf Club captain Rajan Tiwari says. Ends
