2021 African Golf Tour season to focus more on youth development, President says

Harris Okatta, the President of African Golf Tour Foundation, says the 2021 African Golf Tour season will focus more on youth development.

Okatta told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja that the objective of the tour was to ensure that the future of the game of golf in the country was secured.

“Now, we are about to start the 2021 season, and we are going to be focusing on youths between the ages of 18 and above.

“This will be so that we can ensure that the future of golf and the future of young players are nurtured and developed from this part of the world.

“That is the objective of the tour, and we are 100 per cent focused to ensure that we achieve it and grow the game of golf in the country,” he said.

Okatta said the foundation had embarked on a golf education programme in schools in the FCT since 2018 to support the sport’s grassroots development.

“We also just launched the programme in Owerri, Imo late last year. We go on day-to-day basis to teach students the rudiments of the game as well as provide them with kits and equipment.

“We are doing quite a lot with the available limited resources at our disposal. But, without doubt, we keep working hard.

“Golf is a fantastic sport and other parts of the world have gone ahead of us. So, we are trying as much as we can to catch up,” he said.

NAN reports that the 2021 African Golf Tour season commenced on March 8, with the first leg (pro-am) of the “Road to Nigeria Masters” at the Arsenal Golf Course in Owerri.

The second leg which got underway also in Owerri on Tuesday is expected to end on Friday.