TheCable

Organisers of the 2021 Lagos Amateur Open Golf Tournament say the management of Ibom Icon Hotel and Golf Resort and First Bank, the tournament sponsor, have formed a partnership that would ensure progress for the competition in the coming years.

Adjudged the best golf resort facility in Nigeria and West Africa, Ibom Icon partnered First Bank for both the corporate golf challenge for charity and Lagos Amateur Open.

The hotel also donated two-night weekend packages for the winning team (4 players) of the corporate golf challenge and refreshments for 600 golfers over the four-day period of the tournament.

Gilbert Thinji, Ibom Icon’s head of operations, said the partnership hinged on First Bank’s pedigree of 60-year sponsorship of the annual event regarded as the biggest in Nigeria.

“We are eager to showcase the excellent golf course and golfing experience that Ibom Icon is renowned for and we are committed to having a one-on-one with golfers all over the country,” Thinji said.

The 54-holes Lagos Amateur Open was concluded on Sunday with scratch player, Aminu Kabir of Ilorin Golf Club, emerging the winner after beating a field of 180 players drawn from different parts of the country.

On his part, Sola Lawson, president of IGOLFMDC, the tournament’s consultant, said the transformation and service upgrade being funded by Ibom Icon in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state would make the facility a rallying point for major competitions in the near future.

“The Ibom Golf Course enhances Nigeria’s opportunity to be considered a top golfing destination in Africa. Our strategic partnership with First Bank can attract attention of the international golfing community, promote tournaments as well as attract golf tourists and secure the FDIs that golf can unlock,” Lawson said.