Custodian classic: 80 African golfers to battle for N20m in Lagos

Organisers say the second edition of the Custodian Classic golf tournament will tee off at the Lakowe Lakes Golf Club, Lagos on March 28.

In a statement on Monday, the organisers of the two-day event said the year’s edition will run till March 30 with N20 million as prize money.

This year’s event would have 80 players from Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and Cameroon contesting for honours on the course.

The classic will be played over 54 holes, while the top 30 players will qualify after 36 holes of play in the final round.

Wole Oshin, the group managing director of the sponsoring company, said the three-day tournament is a social investment towards the capacity development of the Nigerian youth.

“It is also a demographic pivot to Nigeria’s future as well as our way of expressing faith in the abundance of talents in the country,” Oshin said.

“Our strategic partnership with the PGD Tour underscores our ethos of recognising and rewarding excellence in sports as we share similar values with the Tour and align with their developmental blueprint for golf.”

Femi Olagbenro, the director of the PDG Tour, said the classic has enhanced the tour’s stability while fostering player development.

“The transition from Ikoyi Club 1938 to Lakowe Lakes Golf Club as the 2024 host course signifies the tour’s evolution. We are building a dynamic platform where players will have to fight hard for every win and eventually task their productivity and abilities,” Olagbenro said.

The inaugural edition was held at the Ikoyi 1938 Golf Section with Ghanaian Vincent Torgah emerging champion.