Prof. Baiden (L) receiving the trophy from Otumfuo
The Royal Golf Club, Kumasi (RGCK) witnessed a special golf event over the weekend to climax the centenary celebration of the club.
The two-day RGCK Centenary Cup (Match Play format) featured two teams of 24 amateur golfers from Southern Ghana clubs (Achimota, CRIG, Celebrity, Centre of the World and Bok Nam Kim) captained by Theodore Asampong and another 24 from the Northern Ghana clubs (RGCK, Obuasi, Nsuta, Tarkwa and Damang), captained by Prof. Bernard Baiden.
The tournament started last Friday with the ceremonial tee off by His Royal Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II assisted by Kwasi Attah-Antwi (RGCK Management Chairman), Peter Fiagbe (Honourary Life Member) and Brig-Gen Joseph Aphour (GOC and Honourary Member).
The occasion was also witnessed by several Past Captains (Nana Akwasi Bawuah, Prince Adu Agyemang, Bill Bismark Appiah, Martin Poku and Prof. Bernard Baiden) and Presidents (Prof. John Owusu-Addo, George Boateng and Frankie Osei-Asibey) of the club. Sam K. Appiah, arguably the best golfer of the century at the club, was also present at the ceremony.
The first day of competition comprised 12 teams in a four-ball best ball match play format. The day ended with a landslide victory of 11-01 to the Northern Team.
The next and final featured 23 single matches. In the end, the Northern Team won comfortably by 241⁄2 to 81⁄2. This brought the total scores to 251⁄2 to 91⁄2.
The all-ladies affair between Jenny Le (Southern Team) and Vivian Dick (Northern Team) was keenly contested and won by Vivian on hole 17 (2 and 1). Bernard Dwomoh from the Northern Team recorded the widest margin of the event when he stopped his opponent on hole 10 to return a score of 9 and 8.
Welcoming sponsors, guest, golfers, and past executives to the awards dinner at the Golden Tulip on Saturday evening, Kwasi Attah-Antwi singled out His Royal Majesty for his continued support for golf and the club.
He also acknowledged the contribution of the sponsors of the RGCK Centenary Cup led by SIC Insurance and ably supported by Vodafone, Stanbic Bank, AngloGold Ashanti, Melcom Group, First National Bank and SES Satellites.
All Past Executives (Lady Captains, Captains and Presidents) were honoured for the leadership roles over the years. The last non-competition award of the evening went to Sam K. Appiah, who was crowned the “Golfer of the Century”.
This was followed by the presentation of winners’ plaques to the 24 members of the Northern Team, Vice-Captain and Captain. Prof. Bernard Baiden then received the winning trophy from His Royal Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to crown the efforts of the Northern Team.
In his closing remarks, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II presented a brief historical perspective that pointed to the 100 years milestone of the club. His Royal Majesty called for close collaboration between the past executives and the current management.
The Asantehene thanked all the sponsors for their support and encouraged other corporate institutions to do same. He finally pledged his support in the efforts towards the construction of a new clubhouse that befits a 100-year-old golf club.
From The Sports Desk