Maxwell Otoo to represent Ghana in World Junior Golf

Maxwell Otoo of Benso Golf Club on Monday qualified to represent Ghana in this year's World Junior Golf Championship scheduled for Scotland in July when he returned 149 net to win the junior category of the Ghana Amateur Open Championship played at the Achimota Golf Course.

B. Arkoh was second with 152 net while Kwame Frimpong came third with 158 net. In the senior's division, Francis Asogba scored 221 gross to win the 70th annual Ghana Amateur Open Golf Championship. E.K. Henaku placed second with 222 gross, A.S. Ibrahim came third with 223 gross, J.A. Love was fourth with 223 gross while T.K. Agama took the fifth position with 226 gross and George Osei came sixth with 227 gross.

In the Ladies event, Horsh Morita came first with 237 gross, Mona Captan was second with 240 gross, Van Groningen came third with 246 gross, Grace Kokmladzei was fourth with 251 gross while Frolence Etwi-Barimah took the fifth position with 253 gross. Emos Korblah won the Professionals event with 289 gross, Victor Brave-Mensah placed second with 291 gross, Paul Dossey and Joseph Mawule tied on 294 gross to place third and fourth respectively while Baba Akologo took the fifth position with 295 gross.

The three-day 54-hole Scratch event opened to amateur and professional golfers from Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria, attracted over 250 participants and was sponsored by Silver Star Auto Limited. Mr Edward Osei Kwaku, Minister for Youth and Sports in an address, said the government would do everything possible to ensure that the game is developed.

Mr Osei Kwaku praised the company for their sponsorship and called on other organisations and companies to help government to achieve its aim of popularising the lesser-known sports. Mr Mike Ezan, President of the Ghana Golf Association, also praised the company for single-handedly sponsoring the competition for the past seven years.

Mr Nouhad Kalmoni, Managing Director of Silver Star Auto Limited said he was happy that for the past seven years, the event has witnessed a remarkable improvement in organisation and quality of play. "It has been quite impressive, as younger people have developed interest in the game", he added.