Dr Bob Olukoya, director, High Performance Centre and Sports Leadership Hub (HPCSLH) of the Sports University of Nigeria (right), with Mr Mike Shouirey, technical director of Qatar Golf Association in Qatar, recently.
The 2025 Qatar Open Golf Championship (39th edition) will for the first time ever, feature two amateur golfers from Nigeria.
This was the outcome of the ‘Rebuilding trust: Showcasing talents’ themed golf competition organised by the High-Performance Centre and Sports Leadership Hub (HPCSLH) of the Sports University of Nigeria, in Doha, State of Qatar, recently.
According to Dr Bob Olukoya, director of HPCSLH, Nigerian golfers since 2006 have been blacklisted by the Qatari authorities for failure to honour previous invitations despite the golfers being granted visas and other travel support. Rather than play, they absconded upon arriving in the country.
All these are about to change as the sporting diplomacy embarked upon by the Olukoya-led HPCSLH has yielded bountiful opportunities for Nigerian amateur golfers once again.
“We are gradually changing the narratives,” Olukoya said.
The two 2025 Qatar Open slots will be offered to the top two finishers at the qualifying tournament to be held in Nigeria from January 24-26, 2025 at a yet-to-be-named venue.
Olukoya expressed confidence that Nigerian amateur golfers in Nigeria and the diaspora, if selected on merit, are capable of competing and winning the Qatar Open which has a handicap limit of 9.
The winner of the Qatar Open automatically qualifies for the next Qatar Masters, part of the lucrative DP World Tour. Other prizes will also be awarded to the second to the 10th-placed golfers.
As a result, Nigerian amateur golfers will receive the recognition they deserve based on their talents and performances. According to Mr Olajide Bolaji, technical director of the Nigeria Golf Federation and the secretary of the Professional Golfers Association of Nigeria (PGAN), “This is awesome and good news for the Nigerian golfing community. Nigerian golfers can dominate the world if provided with participatory opportunities. We are grateful to the Qatar Golf Association and Dr Bob Olukoya for making this happen. We shall support whoever emerges to go all the way in Qatar.”
The January 2025 qualifiers will feature amateur golfers from the diaspora and golf clubs across Nigeria. The handicap limit for participants will be set at 9 to align with that of the Qatar Open.
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