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A retired football player won the 104th event at Ikoyi Golf Club and will represent Lagos in the grand finals in Turkey later this year.
Ademola Adeboya has emerged as the winner of the Lagos Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup Amateur series.
Adeboya won the 104th event at Ikoyi Golf Club and will be representing Lagos in the Grand Finals in Turkey later this year.
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The retiree footballer won the championship with 44 points, followed by runner-up Amoloegbe and third-place Daisi Olotu. Interestingly, Amoloegbe also won the Closest to the Pin competition.
Reacting after the championship, Adeboya expressed his excitement about winning his first-ever trophy in golf. He attributed his late start in the sport to a knee injury that forced him to retire from football.
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Adeboya emphasised that he continues to play golf primarily for enjoyment and relaxation.
"This is the first trophy I will ever win in my life and talking about golf, this is the first trophy I am winning. I am now going to Turkey to go and play which is a good opportunity.
"I was a footballer and my knees gave up after turning 40/45, I talked to myself that I couldn’t play football anymore and I took up golf which I played for about a year and stopped for many years and started playing again about two years. I started playing purely for fun and I am still playing for fun," he said.
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Adeboya highlighted the accessibility of golf and the potential for growth in Nigeria. He believes that with more sponsorships and exposure, the sport could gain significant popularity in the country.
"I started getting eleven holes, then I started thinking this is a good start-up. It’s one of the easiest games to follow and I think there are a lot of people golfers in Nigeria and we don’t give Nigeria the kudos, I have played outside Nigeria but I see many more popular golfers in Lagos than in other parts of the world.
"More big sponsorship and exposure will allow more people to follow the game," he concluded.
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Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines General Manager in Lagos, Lokman Balkan expressed his gratitude to all attendees for making the event a success and wished Adeboya good luck in the tournament in Turkey.
“We warmly thank all of our guests who made the Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup here in Lagos a huge success. Once again, it was a thrilling tournament in the TAWGC series, congratulations to our winner, Ademola Adeboya. We wish him the best of luck in Turkey," he said.
Since its inception in 2013, the Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup now brings together over 8,000 players who compete against one another in more than 118 tournaments in 67 countries worldwide.
All Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup finalists will fly to Turkey with the comfort and luxury of Turkish Airlines’ Business Class.
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