Guardian

NIGERIA’S Georgia Oboh missed by the skin of her teeth, the chance to shine on the world stage at the recently concluded U.S. Kids European Golf Championships in Gullane, Scotland.

Her compatriot and club-mate at Ikoyi Club 1938 (golf section), Anita Uwadia, also had a fairly good outing finishing fourth in her category. She, however, could not stay for the Van Horn Cup due to previous travel arrangements. She played rounds of 84, 76, and 75 on days One, Two and Three. Having finished 5th on Day One, she improved her standing to 4th place on the final day.

At the three-day tourney, which was attended by over 500 kids from more than 40 countries, Oboh led on the first day with her 74 gross, carded 83 on the second day but bounced back to shoot 78 (the lowest score amongst the leaders) on the last day. She finished only 6 shots behind the winner over the three days, beating the winner twice in the three days.

The former British kid champion eventually finished 4th in the girls’ 12 years category. This qualified her as one of the best two international players in her category to play against the best two players from Western Europe in a match play for the Van Horn Cup. The international team won the Van Horn Cup and for the first time in the history of the Cup being played in the last six years. And as a member of the International team, she bagged a green status, which gives her automatic entry to all of U.S. Kids 2013 tourneys all over the world.

Of the 11 kids that were billed to represent Nigeria, only 10 made it there, as Diana Osmond was unable to make the trip due to a delay in obtaining the required visa from the British Embassy in Lagos.

During the closing ceremony, the Founder of U.S. Kids Mr. Dan Van Horn commended the efforts of the Kids Golf International and the Nigerian team for the progress they have made in just two years of attending event.

In addition to Oboh and Uwadia both from Ikoyi GC 1938, who won laurels at the European event, the other Kids Golf International (KGI) ambassadors- Jordan Thompson, Manchang Samuel from Rayfield Golf Club 1913 and Chiemerie Isife from Enugu Golf Club all qualified to attend the U.S. Kids World Championships as they shot scores within the qualifying criteria for the event which is due to take place from August 1 to 3 at the Pinehurst Golf Resort, North Carolina, United States.

President of KGI, Prince Kehinde Thompson expressed gratitude to all parents and sponsors who made the trip possible and was very pleased with the outcome of the exercise for the Nigerian team. He added that KGI looked forward to working with the Nigerian Golf Federation (NGF) and others, who wish to key into its mission and vision of developing young sporting ambassadors through the game of the golf.