180 players set for Nigeria Cup 2015

• Tourney tees off Sept 26 at Ikoyi Club

About 180 players will vie for honours in the different categories when the Nigeria Cup tees off at the Ikoyi Club on September 26, the organisers have revealed.

The Nigeria Cup is Ikoyi Club’s annual golfing tournament, which commemorates Nigeria’s Independence anniversary. It was established to celebrate the country’s heritage while promoting the game of golf.

The competition aside the golf competition has other activities that exhibit Nigeria’s heritage, pride and sporting excellence.

Speaking during the unveiling of the tournament yesterday at the club, the Chairman, Local Organising Committee (LOC), Lanre Kalejaiye, who described the Nigeria Cup as the most prestigious amateur golf tournament at Ikoyi Club 1938 and on the Nigerian golfing calendar, revealed that of the 180 players billed to participate in the tournament, 100 are those who qualified from the recently held preliminaries. They would be joined by former winners and some of the sponsors, who were excused from the qualifiers.

This year’s tourney is themed “Seven Shades of Green,” which, according to Kalejaiye, reflects the seven days duration of the tournament.

He explained that each of the seven days would focus on a different category of golfers, and will highlight a different shade of Nigeria’s national and golf colour – green.
  
Kalejaiye added that this year’s Independence Day Kitty, scheduled for Thursday October 1, would be an exciting day of golfing for all club members and will celebrate the rich Nigerian heritage in the arts. Guest players, veterans and sponsors will take their turn on the course on Friday, October 2, and the grand finale will be on Saturday, October 3, 2015. It will climax with a gala dinner later in the evening. 

The LOC chairman, who commended the sponsors for their support, also disclosed that tour professionals would lock horns in a battle, which N3 million has been staked as prize money.
 
He added: “We have adopted the philosophy of giving back, as part of the proceeds from sponsors will be donated to support the less privileged as well as developing the game of golf.    

“In preparation and anticipation of the event, the qualifier tournament was held on September 12, 2015 and was a very successful one, with about 200 golfers who played on that day and we got tremendous positive feedback from our players.
“This year’s theme is titled  “Seven Shades of Green”. Each of the seven days of the event will focus on a target group within our golf community, showcase a key value that defines who we are, and celebrate a different shade of our national color – green.”

The LOC chairman revealed that the tournament would tee off with the children’s competition, the second day is for the caddies, while the third day is the Ladies’ tournament.

The professionals would take their turn on the fourth day, with the Independence Kitty taking place on October 1, he said, adding, “We look forward to this day, as it would be an exciting one for all club members celebrating our rich Nigerian heritage in the Arts.

“To hold on the sixth day is a tournament for sponsors, veterans and guests, while the final tournament will hold on October 3, after which we will close the entire tournament in style at a gala dinner the same evening.

“We must state that the highlight of this tournament is the award to the winner of the final tournament, a highly competitive one.”