Ghanaian Golfer Raises Eyebrowse In Canada

HAMILTON, Canada -- Kodjo Degbe travelled all the way from Ghana to Canada to play in the qualifying round for this week's Bell Canadian Open. Some people are now wondering if he's really a golfer or had other plans for making the trip.

He was among 156 players vying for four berths in the Open at Hamilton Golf Club. Outside of the top handful of players, handicaps were everywhere yesterday — the kind of handicaps that become evident when not-so-good golfers take on a good course — and Kodjo Degbe began the day with more than a few.

Degbe's caddy, his Toronto-based countryman Kwame Anthon, had never been on a golf course before and neither had Degbe's flat-soled brown loafers, which were standing in for his golf spikes, which were lost with the rest of his luggage in transit from his home in Ghana.

Cursing KLM Airlines, Degbe had to borrow clubs and a clean shirt from a friend of a friend. But exactly why he made the long journey from Accra, the capital of his West African homeland, might never be known. He said he came for the express purpose of qualifying for the tournament.

But Degbe's presence raised eyebrows with officials of the Royal Canadian Golf Association, one of whom said it "seemed fishy" that a player would travel so far to play 18 holes with no guarantee of advancement, especially when it became evident that Degbe, a short hitter with a hunched-over swing who shot 84, was a few rungs below world class.

Still, his was a laudable score considering his borrowed equipment — a ratty bag filled with 11 rusty clubs (two of which were sand wedges of identical loft) — was of garage-sale quality, and considering he'd spent the three nights before his Sunday arrival sleeping in a chair in the Amsterdam airport while waiting for his connection to Toronto.

His excuses, at least, were PGA Tour calibre.

"I had a bad game. I didn't have my golf set. I didn't have my equipment. I didn't have my golf shoes," he said. "I had to rush to the tee box to play. They were calling my name. I had a late night and I didn't sleep.

"I couldn't get a flight. I wanted to come early and train and know the course. But there was no chance."