Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
Georgia Oboh is close to fulfilling her ambition- and a historic feat for Nigeria- after after qualifying for the finals of the Ladies European Tour (LET) Qualifying School.
The 17- year- old golfer, at the weekend finished third in the pre- qualifying school A to qualify for the final to hold in Morocco on December 16 to 20.
She held her own in a 65-field of players from 38 countries, becoming the youngest African to qualify for the LET School and also the youngest player in the Pre- Q School A.
The LET is the premier ladies professional golf Tour covering the African, Asian, Oceanic, and European continents. It also incorporates events in the Middle East.
The LET Qualifying School is the gateway for female players to compete at an elite level globally and is usually held at the end of each season to establish which players, not otherwise exempt, will gain their playing privileges on the Tour for the following season through a qualifying competition.
Oboh arrived Morocco on October 26 with her father to set up preparations for the qualifiers, a little over a week after competing at the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina.
“On arriving in Marrakech, we had a couple of rainy days and that halted our practice a bit but it was okay because we also needed to rest just coming from Argentina. It was a hectic schedule but we had to do that so that we could hopefully take advantage of the break between stage 1 and 2 to play in the upcoming Côte d’Ivoire Open on November 15 to 18. I had always hoped that I would begin my professional career in Africa and God is allowing that to happen,” she said.
She has broken the ground for a whole generation of Nigerian and African lady golfers.
Her response to this amazing feat is one of excitement mixed with the feelings of part of a dream come true.
“Since I was eight, it has been my dream to play on the LET and that dream is starting to unfold this week,” she said.
She believes this achievement will attract more corporate and individual sponsors to her dream as she needs stable and consistent financial partners in her venture into the professional world of women’s golf.
