West Africa Golf Tour tees off in Port Harcourt, May 12

The third edition of the prestigious West African Tour tees off at the Port Harcourt Club, Golf Section, from May 12 to 15.
The Port Harcourt Classic is a 72-hole professional tournament with a cut of 40 players and ties made after 36 holes. The winner will take $8,000 and win 500 points. The total prize purse is $50,000.
Speaking on the choice of Port Harcourt for the third edition, president of the West Africa Tour, Emeka Okatta, said the city was selected because it met all the requirements to host an international tournament of such scope.
Okatta was hopeful that the event would be bigger than the previous editions held in Abuja and Ilara-Mokin in February and March this year.
Captain of Port Harcourt Club Golf Section, Emmanuel Okene, applauded the decision to stage the tournament in the Garden City, promising that the club in collaboration with other partners would work to deliver a world-class tournament that the state government and all stakeholders would be proud of.
“Rivers State is excited by this news as this is an opportunity to showcase our golf course to the world. It will also impact on the efforts to develop the game on different platforms as a product that will attract corporate interest and more players,” Okene declared.
Port Harcourt Club, which was founded in 1928, plays as a par 70 golf course and is 5,457 meters in length.
The professional field is expected to comprise mainly of golfers from West and Central Africa region. Nigerian players, Oche Odoh and Kingsley Oparaku won the first two editions.
Amateur golfers will similarly be part of the excitement, as they will be playing on May 14 to 15. All players are expected to pay the registration fee of N20, 000 to be eligible while registration will close two weeks before the event.
The Port Harcourt Classic will be followed by the B & E Match Play from June 22 to 26 June 2016 in Abuja. The event, also on the West Africa Golf Tour, will grant 600 points for the Order of Merit. The Professionals will play from June 23 to 26, while the amateur hold their event on June 25 to 26.