Ten Nigerian youngsters ready for Kenyan challenge

IT is that time of the year when countries come together to exhibit the future of their game. The quality of every country’s junior players, they say, gives an insight into what the future portends for such nations. And so from Monday, August 17, the best of African youth players will gather in Kenya to show the world what they should expect from the continent in the near future.

The Kenyan challenge is a double-header, girls and boys championships, in which Nigeria will present four girls and six boys.

The girls event, which is tagged, All Africa Girls Junior Championship, will hold from Monday to August 21 at the Ngali Golf Club, Mombasa, with Diana Osmond, Helen Alechenu, Diana Okungbowa and Teshi Onuh flying Nigeria’s flag.

The boys event, Tri Nations Championship, will begin on August 19 and end on August 23, with Alechenu Odeh, Isife Chiemerie, Joseph Monday, Aminu Mohammed, Lucky Ede and Sunday Alechenu representing Nigeria at the same event venue.

One of the boys, Odeh Alechenu, 13, won the U-14 category at the last Regional tournament held in Ibadan.

These two events in Kenya, which are supported by the Royal and Ancient Ltd of Scotland (R&A), are organised by the Kenya Golf Federation and the Kenya Ladies Golf Union.

According to the Nigeria Golf Federation (NGF), the country’s delegation to the championship, which includes the body’s officials and supporters, will be led by the NGF president, Dr. Peter Geshi.

They are expected to depart for Kenya on Sunday and return to the Country on August 25.

The 2015 Africa Junior Girls’ Golf Challenge is an inaugural competition, which format is a stroke-play over 72 holes in four consecutive days. The score counting for the competition is the aggregate gross score for the team over the four rounds.

These events are hosted under the auspices of Africa Golf Confederation, whose membership is open to all countries in Africa.

The event is sanctioned by Royal and Ancient Ltd of Scotland, the global golf governing body.