• Huisamen, Park, Ikemefune win team event
In his third outing within six years, IBB Golf and Country Club, Abuja-based tour pro, Andrew Oche Odoh shot his way to the leaderboard of the 2019 Lakowe Lakes Golf Classics to emerge champion.
In the tournament, which is used to mark the country’s independence celebrations, as well as the club’s anniversary, the 21 professionals and 42 amateurs traded swings on the championship course of Lakowe Golf Club, Lagos on a day that a heavy downpour got the course very wet, and led to over two hours delay in getting play underway.
Emos Korblah of Achimota Golf Club, Ghana, who carried the day in the pros’ event of the 2018 edition with three under par that he shut over 36 holes, was not on hand to defend his crown, but that did not stop Odoh from winning the tourney with his 70 gross score.
With many top tour players taking part in the ongoing 2019 WAAG Tour, pros that featured at the championship played alongside two amateurs in the teams.
Nevertheless, the 21 that featured still formed a formidable field that consisted some of the finest on the Nigerian Tour. They include past winners Dominic Andrew, Sunday Odegha and Oche Andrew Odoh, as well as consistent top-four finisher, Nojeem Sofela and Martin Odoh, who missed the top spot in a past edition by the whiskers.
“I actually had a decent ball striking round on the day. Hitting 10 fairways and 15 greens in regulation in that tough weather condition was really good. It was raining and also a bit windy too,” Odoh told The Guardian. He continued: “I made four birdies on holes 1, 5, 6, and 8. Then made two boogies on holes 12 and 14. My playing amateurs were really cool, and I enjoyed their company. We finished fifth in the team event. I’ve played this event three times, lost on a four-man play off in 2017, and I won the 2014 and 2019 tournaments,” he added.
Mustafa Aminu, also with 70 gross finished in second place in the professionals’ event, while Vincent Ikemefune, with 71 gross settled for the third place.
However, Ikemefune, Michael Huisamen, and Jiung Park with 128 nett carried the day in the team event.Director of golf at the club, Campbell Elliot expressed satisfaction at the tourney, saying it has continued to get better by the year.“We are happy that the quality of the tournament keeps on improving year after year, and we are really happy with where we have taken the tournament to. The best of golf, real estate and hospitality are increasingly on display as the tourney progresses over the years.
“This is one of the main events on our calendar, so rather than just choosing members randomly, we deemed it far more objective to get members to qualify for the tournament through a qualifier. The qualifier also drives up participation as well, because when you know that you have to take part in a qualifier, you are likely going to play more often in order to perfect your game. The qualifier, I must say, also has a great impact on the quality of the tournament, rather than the quantity of players taking part in the tournament.”
