The maiden edition of the first Ladies Professional Golf Tournament will tee off tomorrow at the Ibadan Golf Club, Onireke, Ibadan.
The tourney will see several professional golfers across the country battle for laurels as the organisers have promised lots of prizes.
According to the Director of Golf Together, Mr Henry Endeley, the essence of the tournament is to promote competitive games among female professional golfers in the country.
Also speaking at the press briefing on Monday, Executive Director, Corporate Affairs, Golf Together Ltd, Hannah Obadina, said logistics have been put in place hope of making the three-day tournament a hitch-free one.
“Golf Together is a body established for the love of the game of golf. We will encourage our children to develop an interest in the game and we will achieve this through mentoring, training in schools and colleges.
“This first Ladies Professional Golf Tournament is also aimed at preparing Nigerian lady professional golfers to sharpen their games to be able to compete with their counterparts across the globe because it will come sooner than later,” she said adding the second edition of the tournament next year will in take place in May.
Lady Captain, Ladies Wing, Sharon Wesley, expressed joy to be part of the competition, just as she lauded the sponsor, Golf Together Ltd for its effort at promoting golf in the country.
“The tournament will open doors of opportunities for other amateur lady golfers to become professional golfers,” Wesley added.
Also, a board member, Nigeria Golf Federation (NGF), Racheal Danjuma, thanked Golf Together Ltd for replicating what the NGF is doing to raise the younger ones and women in golf.
“Promoting women in golf is also bringing the younger ones to be involved in the game because golf is about promoting one’s health and developing a sense of reasoning,” she said.
In his remarks, Captain of Ibadan Golf Club (IGC), Mr Seyi Alaba, said the club is delighted in hosting the Ladies professional golfers across the country at IGC for the maiden edition of the tournament.
He lauded the sponsor for choosing IGC, as he expressed optimism that the tournament will be a successful one.
“The course is ready for them as we have been preparing for them for the past two weeks and everything is set on the course.
“This is a call to other corporate bodies to emulate what Golf Together Ltd is about to do; to encourage and develop the skills of lady golfers. Often times we complain that Nigeria is not well represented, especially in some games including golf, but if you look at what the organiser of this tournament is doing right now, it goes a long way in encouraging people to develop interest in the game.
“I believe in that, you will see that in a few years to come, the step we are taking today will yield wonderful results,” Alaba said.
