The Chairman of Professional Golfers in Rivers State, Tony Philemon, has said that the difficult era of pro-golfers in the state and Niger Deltans to compete in major golf tournaments would soon be a thing of the past.
Philemon, who is also the Chairman of Degema Local Government Council said this at the weekend, in an interview with sports journalists in Port Harcourt, said to achieve this aim, he and other notable individuals in the state have initiated plans to organise a maiden edition of Rivers Tour Golf Championship, which would tee-off later this month.
According to him, the tournament will be used to also celebrate his birthday and hinted that N6 million has been earmarked as prize money for the professionals.
He opined that the eventual winner of the tournament was expected to cart home a whopping sum of N1.2 million and, however, noted that the tour which was aimed at revamping the sport among the pros in the Niger Delta will compete twice on monthly basis.
The state chairman of the professional golfers further revealed that the tour will stand the test of time because a lot of multi-nationals have indicated interest to sponsor the tournament, adding that the tournament will feature golfers in the amateur category with lots of prizes to be won.
“We must let the world know that Rivers State and Niger Delta at large are safe for investors and those attempting to demarket the state are only spreading falsehood,” Philemon said.
However, he expressed hope that the State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike as the POS Africa will also support the tournament, having bankrolled other sporting events in the state in recent times.