The Professional Development Golf Tour, managed by Meristem Securities, has commenced at the Lakowe Lakes Golf and Country Estate in Lagos.
The event officially kicked off on Thursday. Ikoyi Club 1938’s duo of Sunday Olapade and Francis Epe kept the charge from the home front.
The pair of Kouame Richard from Ivory Coast and Vincent Torgah from Ghana also dazzled at the opening ceremony.
In fifth place is Friday Akpodiette, while Gift Willy, Enoch Owusu, Mohammed Kabir Haruna, Francis Christopher, and Abubakar Mustapha are tied in sixth place with a level par score on the Lakowe Golf Course.
Advertisement
Other top players lurking close to the leaders ahead of the second-round play include former Nigeria number one player, Nojeem Sofela, Liman Mohammed, Chukwudi Okoro, and Paul Patrick who all shot 73, one over par.
Kamalu Bako, Nigeria’s current number-one ranked professional golfer, is five shots adrift of the joint-leaders.
Femi Olagbenro, Golf manager at the host club, said the players’ performance underscored the quest for regular playing time by the professionals.
Advertisement
“The scores today are encouraging and fully speak to the need for active playing time. The PGD Tour will complement whatever other stakeholders have on the plate for professional golf development and I am confident the scores will even get better,” Olagbenro said.
About 83 professionals including golfers from Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, South Africa, and Zimbabwe teed off the Meristem Open which is the inaugural event of the Professional Golfers Development Tour on Thursday.
The teams will battle for N10 million with the winner expected to be decided over three days on 56 holes.
Advertisement
Add a comment
