Samreboi (W/R), March 3, GNA – About 50 professional golfers are currently battling it out on the Samartex Golf Course in the Western Region for a whooping GH₡100,000 prize money.
The first of four series of the Road to Obotan dubbed ‘Mahogany Open’ was a shared vision and passion to project the sport of golf, give professional players more playing time, and develop young talents in the sport.
The four-day competition was opened to all valid members of the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) of Ghana.
Organised by Samartex Timber and Plywood Company Limited together with Safari Group, the competition is aimed at becoming the biggest professional golf tournament experience in the Western part of Africa and seeks to explore the biggest experience in the golf sport in West Africa.
Mr Richard Nsenkyire, Managing Director of Samartex, explained that as a company, they want to develop talents, develop healthy living and develop sustainable living.
He explained that the Road to Obotan Tournament would be characterized by four series of competitions which would be played at the Safari Valley Golf Club (Adukrom – Okere District) and Samartex Golf Club (Samreboi).
He said after the Mahogany Open which ends on Sunday, March 6, there would be the Cedrela Open which would be the second in the tournament series to the played at the Safari Valley in June, followed by the Odum Open to be played at Samartex in September and them the Obotan Tournament which is the main event to be played in December at Safari Valley.
Mr Nsenkyire again mentioned that the development of the game of golf was at their heart therefore, they had come up with the ‘Amateur to Pro-Golfer’.
“This concept is to give the opportunity to all and we have already started to harness and develop young talent, especially less privileged kids within the catchment working areas of Samartex and Safari Valley.
“We have already started with kids between the ages of eight to 16years registered and under training by some professional golfers,” he said.
Mr Lord Nana Tandoh, the Municipal Chief Executive of Amenfi West, commended the organisers for coming up with the event and urged them to continue doing their best for the community.
He said such events improve the socio-economic activities of the community therefore, more such events should be hosted to encourage more people to visit the region.
Akwasi Prempeh, Tournament Director at PGA-Ghana, explained that the tournament would be based on a point system therefore the golfer with the highest points after the four tournaments would be crowned the overall winner.
GNA