By Dorcas Francis Koji
The Lakowe Lakes Golf Classic is set for a major boost as Oando Nigeria Plc takes centre stage as the main sponsor of this year’s championship, with increased prize money expected to attract some of Africa’s leading professional golfers to Lagos.
The tournament, which forms part of the Sunshine Development Tour’s East Africa Swing, will be staged in two phases at Lakowe Lakes Golf & Country Estate.
The first phase, the Nigeria Closed, will hold from September 28 to 30 and will feature Nigerian professional golfers competing for a N30 million prize purse.
The international phase will follow from October 2 to 4, bringing together professionals from across Africa who will battle for $50,000 in prize money as well as valuable World Ranking points.
Manager of Lakowe Lakes, Femi Olagbenro, said Oando’s involvement would strengthen the championship’s long-term objective of providing Nigerian professionals with greater opportunities to compete at a higher level.
“The Lakowe Lakes Classic continues to champion the development of professional golf in Nigeria. Oando shares our vision of creating opportunities that allow our local stars to compete at a higher level, test themselves against Africa’s best and earn the recognition their talent deserves,” Olagbenro said.
The tournament’s international field is expected to feature professionals from Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Uganda, Kenya and other African golf nations.
Among Nigeria’s leading players expected to feature are Olapade Sunday, Godwin Okoko, Andrew Odoh, Solomon Ideria, Francis Epe and Tajudeen Ajayi, several of whom have gained international experience through competitions on the Sunshine Development Tour.
Olapade said the opportunity to compete in a World Ranking event on home soil represented an important development for Nigerian professional golf.
“There is always something special about competing at home, but this is bigger than just playing in Nigeria. Events like this give our players the opportunity to compete internationally, earn ranking points and put Nigeria more firmly on the world golf map,” he said.
“We are excited about the quality of the field and what this means for professional golf in the country.”
Other partners supporting the championship include GAC Motors, ARM Investment Managers and ProvidusUnity Bank, among others.
With a larger prize purse, international participation and World Ranking points on offer, the Oando-backed Lakowe Lakes Golf Classic is set to provide Nigerian professionals with a platform to test their abilities against some of the continent’s best players while strengthening the country’s presence on the international golf scene.
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