A golfer, Eghonghon Akpomon-Daniels, has emerged champion of the 25th edition of the IBB Ladies Close Golf tournament in Abuja.

The tournament’s Silver Jubilee, which began on Wednesday with the pre-tournament press conference and ceremonial tee-off, ended on Saturday with the prize and award ceremony.

About 200 golfers took part in the 18-hole tourney played over two days at the IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja.

Akpomon-Daniels returned an aggregate score of 132 net, after posting a score of 67 and 65 on day 1 and day 2, respectively, to emerge the overall winner.

An elated Akpomon-Daniels said that she was surprised she emerged the winner.

She said, “I find it hard to explain how I feel. I am excited and humbled at this victory and I just want to say thank you, God. When I started this tournament, I just wanted to play as usual. I didn’t expect that I was going to win, but on the first day, I was on top of the leaderboard. Surprisingly, by the next day, the pressure was high because of the expectation from everyone. But I was able to stay calm and play even better than I did on Day 1.

“This is so significant for me, having just started playing golf two years ago.

“It’s an honour to be holding this cup and I feel privileged as people who have won this cup are great golfers and have been playing this game for about 10 to 20 years.’’

She attributed her success to the encouragement she got from her husband, adding that the tournament coincided with their 21st wedding anniversary.

Joy Ikwue, with an aggregate score of 138 net; and Folashade Olateju, with 140 net, finished as second runner-up and first runner-up net in the Ladies Division 1, 2, 3 aggregate net categories respectively.

Grace Ihonvbere, playing off handicap 13, with 84 gross; and Grace Agbo, playing off handicap 3, with 76 gross, won the best gross prizes for Day 1 and Day 2, respectively.

J. Christopher, playing off handicap 35 with 93 gross and 68 net, won the best net prize for Day 1, while P. E. Izinyon, playing off handicap 32, with 95 gross, returned a net score of 63 to scoop the best net prize for Day 2.

V. M. Sylvester, playing off handicap 48, emerged winner of the Ladies veterans’ category after she garnered 42 stable ford points, while Halima Wada, playing off handicap 32 with 41 stable ford points, finished as the runner-up in the category.

Former Lady Captain, Dorcas Akinkugbe, playing off handicap 52, amassed 38 stable ford points to settle for the 1st runner-up prize in the category.

“I am so happy, I feel good and it shows that I am still fit and strong. At my old age, I can play 18 holes and still win in my category,” Ms Dorcas said.

In the Auxiliary prizes category, Ms Agbo also took home the longest drive prizes for Days 1 and 2 with a distance of 194 m and 210 m, respectively.

The nearest to the pin prizes went to Ms Atta-Bala (1.5 ft) and Y. Egwudale (6.7 ft) on Days 1 and 2, respectively.

Julie Donli, the Lady Captain of IBB International Golf and Country Club, finished as the 25th player on the tournament’s leaderboard.

Ms Donli expressed delight at hosting the Silver Jubilee of the tournament as the lady captain of the club.

“I am really excited today as the 25th Captain of this great club celebrating the 25th edition of this championship. This can only happen once in a lifetime. I feel honoured, proud and privileged to have been that lady captain celebrating the silver jubilee of the Ladies Close Championship of IBB International Golf and Country Club,” she said.

Ms Donli said she was excited about the winner, adding that Mrs Akpomon-Daniels would forever hold a special place in her heart.

She noted that the winner was relatively new and only started playing golf about two years ago, adding that it showed that with determination and focus, it was possible to be a good golfer within a short period of time.

She stated, “This lady comes to play golf almost every day with her husband. So, she has grown to be a good golfer and that’s what we say: ‘It’s just for you to pick up the interest and the rest will follow naturally. So, we want to also encourage young girls to pick interest in the game. We saw a lot of young girls winning prizes today. That’s our goal. We encourage young girls to play golf because golf is life and it is good for mental, physical and love health.’’

The lady captain also commended her team for the support they gave her, adding that she wouldn’t have been able to achieve much without their support.

(NAN)