Sunday Olapade, the defending champion of the CIO Golf Classic
At least 200 golfers are competing for a record purse of N75 million as the 6th CIO Golf Championship tees off on Sunday.
The weeklong tournament is scheduled to be held at the Python Golf Club in Port Harcourt, Rivers.
Participating golfers are drawn from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, and Lebanon.
Sunday Olapade, the defending champion, will also compete in the tourney.
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Ikenna Okafor, chief executive officer (CEO) of Keeves Global Leasing, the event sponsor, said the championship is held in partnership with the Kenyan Safari Tour, operated by the Kenya Golf Union.
He added that the deal would allow the participants to earn qualifying points for the 2026 Magical Kenyan Open, a Challenge Tour event on the second-tier European Tour schedule, now known as the DP World Tour.
Emmanuel Obiora, a member of the organising committee, said for the first time, Nigerian players would compete at home in a placement event for a world ranking event.
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“The championship has removed some stumbling blocks for the local talent. But the most important is the synergy we are forging with the Safari Tour and the expansion of our hospitality and logistic competencies because of the huge interest that is now being shown across the continent,” Obiora said.
Meanwhile, junior golfers opened the competition, while caddies would take their turn on Monday, as ladies, veterans and club amateurs also take to the course before the professionals wrap up the championship from Thursday to Sunday.
