Wuraola Ojo Golf tourney: Ade Ojo calls for more women golfers

By Solomon Nwoke

Chief Michael Ade. Ojo, the Chairman of Toyota Nigeria Limited sponsors of Chief Mrs Elizabeth     Wuraola Ojo Memorial Golf Tournament has expressed worry that none of the golfers was able to make the Hole-in-one birdie since the inception of the championship 11 years ago.
Speaking at the end of the tournament weekend in Ilara Mokin, Ondo state, the founder of the rising golf resort in the country, the Smokin’ Hills Golf Resort, told the golfers that he was tired of taking his staked car back to the garage after every tournament as a result of the golfers inability to make hole 16. He was virtually begging them to win it to make him happy.

In order to make it easy for the golfers to cart the car away, he has given the golfers a reprieve of Hole 13 in the next edition for them to win the coveted prize.

“I am tired of carrying this car (3.5 Toyota Camry) back to the garage after every year’s tournament. So I want something that will be easy for you (golfers) to win the car. For the past 11 years of this tournament I have been taking this car back home. Next year, this car will be competed for in Hole 13. I believe this will be easier for you”, he said.

He also spoke of his plans to extend invitation to more women in the next edition of the tournament as he frowned at the low turn out of the Lady golfers at the tournament.

He said that the number of women are supposed to be higher than that of the men because the person in whose memory the tournament was instituted was a woman.

“I wasn’t very pleased with the first day’s turn out because I expected more women, but when I dug into this, I was told that they didn’t invite more than 16 and I felt that was very unfair on the women golfers. I like women to be more involved especially, because the person we are celebrating was a woman.”

We can’t throw it open to everybody, it will still be an invitational tournament, but we would extend the invitation beyond the number we invited this year and by God’s grace by then, we may have been able to extend it to two rounds instead of one round”, he said.

Chief Ade.Ojo who is also the founder of Elizade Nigeria Limited and Smokin’ Hills Golf Resort was however impressed that the tournament is living up to its billings. He added that the tournament in future, would attract golfers from outside the shores of the country.

He said, “ the tournament has been living to is billings in different forms and we are realizing most of our aims to keep that relationship intact. To a very large extent, we are getting what we hoped for”.

- Culled from: http://www.vanguardngr.com