First Bank of Nigeria Plc has committed the sum of N7 million to the hosting of the 45th First Bank Lagos Amateur Open Golf Championship. The tournament, which will tee off by 06.15 hours today on the lush Golf course of lkoyi Club 1938, Lagos will run through Sunday.
The annual tournament, the oldest Amateur championship in the country, will feature 14 elite clubs across the country. These are from lkeja, Ibadan, Port-Harcourt, llorin, Aba, Benin, Kano, Kaduna, Calabar and Ekiti Golf Clubs. Others include IBB Golf & Country Club, Abuja, Air-Assault Golf Club, Makurdi Golf Club and Dolphin Golf Club of Lagos. About 260 players are expected at the tourna-ment. Since the tournament debuted 45 years ago, FirstBank has sponsored it for 41 consecutive years, thus making the Bank the oldest and largest financier of elite golf tournaments in Nigeria. Also, the champion-ship has produced professional golfers like Sunday Okpe, Willy Gift, Oche Odoh and I. Ocheje, who is the current defending champion.
Apart from the giant trophy that is expected to be presented to the overall winner, other valuable prizes include refrigerators, TV sets, musical systems, air- conditioning systems and a complete set of golf club with trolley and bags will also be presented to winners in the tournament.
Apart from the Lagos Amateur Open Golf Championship, the Bank has, over the years, been supportive of sports develop-ment in the country. For instance, the Bank has continued to sponsor the Georgian Cup, the most prestigious Polo Trophy in Africa, initiated by FirstBank, then British Bank for West Africa, in 1917. Besides, the Bank is a major sponsor of Dala Hard Court Tennis Championship and the Elephant Golf Championship.
Also recently, the Bank assisted the University of Lagos to host the 1st West African University Games Tennis, Athletics and Table Tennis (WAUGTATT) Championships. First Bank is one of the few banks in the country that has, over the years, taken the development of golf as a sport seriously. Their impact in the game has seen many amateur golfers asking for more each time their tournament is held. Going by the 2005 edition, this year’s tournament is expected to attract the best golfers from the amateur scene.
Nadal crash out of Stockholm Open
Joachim Johansson stunned top seed Rafael Nadal in round two of the Stockholm Open on Wednesday. The Swede, ranked down at 690 after desperate injury problems, won 6-4 7-6 (7-4) for his first ATP Tour victory since Wimbledon 2005.
A former world number nine, Johansson was playing only his third senior match in that time having spent most of this, year on the Challenger circuit. Earlier, second seed, James Blake, beat Sweden’s Thomas Johansson 6-3 6-2.
The American arrived in Sweden on the back of winning the Bangkok Open. You’re never sure if your momentum is going to continue in a new city,” said Blake. “It’s a great feeling, I hope it continues throughout the week.” Blake will next face sixth seed, Olivier Rochus, who beat Paradorn Srichaphan 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-2. Robin Soderling thrashed fellow Swede Jonas Bjorkman 6-0 6-2.
Joachim Johansson has been sidelined for five months because of right shoulder and elbow injuries. “It’s my greatest win ever,” said Johansson, who fired down 17 aces. “I had to play aggressive. “You can’t get involved in long rallies with him – he’s so good and patient.”
Nadal said: “He played with confidence and without pressure, very aggressively. I did not play a bad match. “His serve is top five for sure. If he continues playing like this, he has the chance to make the top eight in (next year’s) Tennis Masters Cup. “He has an unbelievable potential with his serve and forehand, and his backhand is not bad either.
“He has a chance to win this event if he plays like this, but it’s never the same to play in the second round as in the semi-finals when pressure is there for a player who wants a lot of points.”
What’s happening to Cadbury Cup?
With two and half months to the end of year 2006, there is still no word from Cadbury Nigeria Plc, sponsors of the annual Cadbury Cup Quadrangular Inter MatchPlay Golf tournament, which has endeared itself to the hearts of thousands of amateur golfers in the country. The event which teed off in 1999 as an invitational, returned to its old format in 2005, after the later editions were expanded to accommodate more golf clubs in the country. The 2005 edition of the tournament took place at the Ikoyi Club 1938 (Golf section) in December after it suffered a postponement.
The 2004 edition had also taken place in Ikoyi Club and it was certain that the 2006 edition would certainly not hold in Lagos. After the exciting tournament, golfers were sure that the 2006 edition of the tournament will hold. But as you read this, there is nothing on ground to say if the quadrangular event will hold this year or not. Cadbury, sponsors of the event, had a lukewarm approach last year and, this year, they have not said a word about the tournament which teed off in 1999 and has emerged to be the most sought after amateur invitational tournament in the country. So, the question on the lips of golfers and golf reporters is: what is happening to the Cadbury Cup? Is Cadbury washing its hands off the tournament?, Would there be a 2006 edition? Is Cadbury still interested in sponsoring golf in Nigeria? There are more questions than answers.
Pedro takes guber campaign to golf club
�Promises to develop golf in Lagos State
As at the last count, there were over 10 gubernatorial aspirants jostling for the top seat at the Government House, Alausa, Lagos State, as the 2007 general election gathers momentum. One of the aspirants is Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Femi Pedro, who has added a new dimension to his campaign strategy. The deputy governor took his campaign train to the Ikoyi Club 1938( Golf section). Apart from playing the game, they love, the golf section of the club has a collection of top flight business executives in the state. People who have the influence and affluence to cause a change in the state-politically and otherwise.
The Deputy governor was one of the dignitaries invited by the organsiers of the 10 edition of the Nigeria Cup Golf tournament to mark the nation�s 46th Independence anniversary. The event is an nual event.
Pedro, a member of the golf section of Ikoyi Club said he has big plans for the development of golf in the state. According to him, golf is one game that can not be ignored by any administration in the state and he intends to pay more attention to golf as a sport when he becomes Lagos State governor come 2007. Pedro who plays in the double digit handicap, took to golf some years ago while he was still in the banking industry.
By now, he was supposed to be playing a single handicap. His passion for the game was very high but his schedule did not give him enough time to actually play the game the way he would have loved to. The situation got worse when he became the number two man in Lagos State. His game dropped, so also his handicap. His attempt to pick up his game failed to produce results, as he only managed to play on few occasions.
Following his state duties, Pedro could only appear at big golf tournaments, either representing his boss, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu or himself as deputy governor of Lagos State. He once confessed to The Golf Course during the Cadbury Cup Golf tournament last year, that he would have loved to play more golf and contribute more to the development of the game but that he was handicapped by circumstances that were way out of his control.
As deputy to Tinubu, Pedro could only convince his boss to build one public golf course in Lekki (still under construction) and sponsor a golf tournament. But the Deputy governor believes a victory come 2007 will change the face of golf in Lagos State, as he plans to double what the present administration has done for golf development in the state. �When I become the governor of Lagos State come 2007, I can tell you that golf will no longer be seen as an elitist sport because I intend to build golf courses even in remote places like Ajegunle and other suburbs in the state. Most people still see golf as a �big� man’s sport but I will change that thinking when I become governor.
I do not see why we cannot produce golfers that would do Nigeria proud at international tournaments. As you know, Governor Bola Tinubu is building a golf course in Lekki and I intend to do more when I become governor in 2007. I am a golfer with Ikoyi Club and there is no way I would not develop the game I love when I get into office.