Glo unveils biggest golf tour in West Africa

Globacom's Commercial Coordinator, Folu Aderibigbe (middle), Secretary of the Professional Golfers Association of Nigeria (PGAN), Bolaji Olajide (right) and Globacom's Head of Post Paid Sales, Kamal Shonibare on Tuesday, November 6 at the unveiling of the Glo Golf Tour 2012, which tees off in Asaba on Thursday, November 8, 2012 and takes the golfers to Sagamu, Abuja and Oturkpo. 

West African telecoms operator and Nigerian national carrier, Globacom, has unveiled a spectacular four-city golf tournament, the Glo Golf Tour 2012 with the biggest purse in the sub-continent. 

The Tour will hold from November 8 to December 9, 2012 in Asaba, Sagamu, Abuja and Oturkpo, which will also host the grand finale.

Top Professional and Category “One” Amateur golfers across West Africa will compete for the prizes which include the N62.5 million Pro-Am purse, a brand new Toyota Corolla for the Hole-in-One winner and a N1 million Veterans' prize.

From the opening ceremony at Asaba Golf and Country Club in Asaba Delta State on Thursday November 8, the tour will move to a new city every week where the golfers will play for between N10 million and N15 million for pros and N500,000 for amateurs in each venue, culminating in the grand finale in Oturkpo with the Senate President, David Mark as Chief Host.

In addition to the cash prizes, a variety of other prizes including top of the range ipads, free airtime and trophies will be given to lucky participants. The lush greens of the Elephant Cement Club, Sagamu will play host to the golfers from November 14 to 17, after which they will move to the IBB Golf & Country Club, Abuja from November 20 to 23.

From Abuja, they will go to putt for the N20m cash prize for pros and N500,000 for amateurs in the grand finale from December 6 to 9, 2012, at the Oturkpo Golf & Country Club, an emerging golfing destination.

The Golf Tour will feature about 50 amateur golfers and 250 professionals in each city while the grand finale will feature 300 pros.

Speaking at the press conference to announce the commencement of the tournament on Tuesday, Globacom’s Coordinator, Commercial, Folu Aderibigbe said the company is determined to establish its pedigree as the biggest supporter of golf in West Africa. 

He noted that with the sponsorship of the 2012 Glo Golf Tour, the company has raised the stakes in golf sponsorship in West Africa.

"By making the Pro-Am purse the biggest in West Africa, we hope this will raise the standard of the game and motivate our professional golfers to step up their games and aim for continental and ultimately global glory," he said.

He also noted that Globacom’s involvement in Golf so far, has made significant impact on the sport, giving higher incentives to the country’s top golfers and encouraging more amateur interest in the game. "We also believe that this tour will provide an opportunity for our high net-worth subscribers, particularly those who are golfers to enjoy their passion, network and socialise," said Aderibigbe.

He acknowledged the efforts of the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) to sustain a high competitive standard in the game. 

“We also note that the PGA has been doing a lot to enhance the growth of the game in Nigeria”, he said. The General Secretary of PGA, Mr Olajide Bolaji said the top ten ranked golfers in Nigeria including Amos Cobbler of Ghana, who is also a member of the PGA in Nigeria, Gboyega Oyedeji, Andrew Ocho Odo, Edet Umoh and the new kid on the block, Tafa Abubakar who turned pro just two years ago, will play at the tournament, adding that “by now, some of them are already in Asaba in readiness for the Tee off on Thursday”.

He commended Globacom for being the first corporate body to package a tournament for professionals. He also disclosed that other top ranking professionals from Ghana, Kenya, and Cameroun will also compete for cash and honours in the tournament.