Burly amateur golfer John Basabose is tired of the 'nearly man' tag amongst his peers at the par-72 Uganda Golf Club (UGC), Kitante course.

Basabose will lead Uganda's charge to reclaim the oldest and biggest amateur local title when the utl Uganda Open takes tees off concurrently at the Entebbe and UGC greens tomorrow. The official tee-off is today.

Kenya's Nicholas Rokoine won the 67th edition last year but has since turned professional and will compete in the prize money category this year, allowing several fresh faces to stake their claims for the coveted title. The 28-year-old Basabose is one of the local stars favoured to win the prized Open considering his experience and knowledge of the Kitante greens.

"The Open will stay home this time round. There is no big contender from Kenya as Greg Snow is in the U.S and Rokoine is a pro," disclosed the player also commonly referred to as Basa.

"Tanzania and Rwanda players won't pose any threat. I'm going to shoot for the star because I have a big chance," he added.

Basa has singled out fellow national amateur stars 2007 utl-Uspa Golfer of the Year Vincent 'Araali' Byamukama and veteran George Olayo as the potential threats to his maiden Uganda Open title.

Basa's best display was a runner-up finish in the 2001 tournament (nett category behind Karanja Karugiyo) after firing two under-par over four days as a handicap 5 golfer then. 220 golfers (100 in Entebbe and 120 at Kitante) will compete for several lucrative prizes in the four-day event set to attract an estimated 35 professionals from all over Africa to battle for Shs10m.

utl have injected Shs100m as main sponsors with Asiatic Sports (Shs8m), Transtel (Shs15m), Midcom Easy (Shs9.8m) and Crown Beverages (Shs4.2m) as co-sponsors.