Botswana’s first female tour professional golfer Ouname Mhotsha will on the 30th of this month (June 2023) host the Oouname Mhotsha Fundraising Golf Day.
The fundraising event is billed for the 30th June at the Stanbic Bank Gaborone Golf Club. It is part of the golfer’s bid to raise at least US$30 000 needed for her to continue her pro golf endeavour in the United States of America (USA).
Funds from the event will assist Mhotsha to meet the financial demands of the sport at professional level. The estimated cost of a yearlong full season of professional golf in the USA is $30 000 and she hopes to get as close to this amount as possible. The funds will be allocated to different parts of her professional golf costs including coaching and practice fees, tournament fees as well as travel costs.
“I hope to raise funds for my professional journey and also attract potential long-term sponsors. I will also be using the golf day as an opportunity to create more access to golf by hosting local and youth business owners as well as by opening the event to the general public. Lastly, this golf day will be an opportunity to connect and celebrate my achievements and hopefully inspire a new generation of golfers in Botswana,” she explains.
As she continues to script her career in golf, Mhotsha is thinking beyond herself and looking to impact upcoming and desiring players. She already has her own golf projects aimed at helping young golfers, more especially girls. Through the fundraising project, she aims to gain more partnerships to help grow her career but also to help young people with professional development and life skills along with great motivation to disadvantaged communities.
“I believe this is a great opportunity to network and connect with future potential sponsors and partners. This will not only be for me but for other athletes as well. To athletes out there, I want to be an example that hard work pays and that they can get better opportunities which I did not have during my junior years. I want them to know that if they are in a place to help make positive change, they should do it. Most times it may mean taking the road less travelled but do it anyway,” she adds.
Already, Mhotsha is showing what it takes to take a road less travelled. The golfer started the sport at a tender age of seven (7). At age 12, she registered as a junior golfer and went on to dominate the golf ranks of Botswana as the youngest player. She attained 16 amateur wins, including 2 international wins.
Through her involvement with golf, Mhotsha attained a full United States of America college golf sponsorship and joined the women’s golf teams at Alcon University and the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
“I have previously received financial support from the Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) Elite Scholarship Fund to assist with my college golf expenses from 2017 to 2019. I have also had additional support from the golfing community in Botswana throughout my college golf career. Other than that I have had no sponsorship and I hope to acquire solid partnership through this fundraising,” Mhotsha says.
With the rise of social media, branding and high following has been one of the noticed things by sponsors. With this in mind, the enthusiastic golfer says she believes branding should be authentic to who one is as an individual and who they hope to become as an athlete. This way, partnerships can be sustainable and an athlete can attract partners that are aligned with their brand.
