Near mayhem at Tema Golf Club

Accra, Aug. 28, GNA - There was near mayhem at the Tema Country Golf course on Sunday when Kwablah Degbe lost the male scratch event to Robert Allotey on technical grounds at this year's "Second Tema Mobitel Open" golf competition.

The two were tied on 144 gross at the end of the two-day 36-hole scratch event and had to engage each other in a play-off (sudden death) over two holes to determine the winner.

Degbe, 25, lost the hole on grounds that he ignorantly engaged the services of two caddies instead of one as stipulated in the "Royal and Asia Rule Book", the rules that governs the game worldwide.

Rule 6-4 on caddies states, among others things, that penalty for more than one caddie is the loss of two strokes in the scratch event. When the "bad" news got to the anxious fans of Debge whom they had tipped to win the event there was a spontaneous resentment and rejection of the final results.

It took the officials some time to really convince the fans after quoting extensively from the handbook on the rules governing the number of caddies that could be used.

Osei George, who recorded a gross of 145 took the third spot. Pin-up lady golfer, Mona Captan, was simply unstoppable in the ladies scratch event. She bagged a gross score of 164 to beat young Valentina Manteaw (169) and G. O. Afriyie (170).

Mona, 48, and a printer by profession told the GNA Sports after her impressive performance that there was the need for corporate bodies to sponsor few good golfers to enable them to compete with the top-notch in the world, thereby enhancing the image of Ghana.

The defending champion who played with a handicap of 7 had been playing golf since 1974 and intends to make big impact before she calls it quits.

Good-old Victor Brave-Mensah toppled last year's winner of the Professional event, Vincent Torgah with a gross score of 278, a stroke better than Baba Akologo and Yao Daniel who scored 285. "Ladies scientific", Florence Etwi Berima could not live up to her pre-competition hype as she could only mange a third place in the Female handicap with a net score of 141.

Ama Morgan won it with a net score of 139 while Esther Bhavani was the first runner up with a net score of 140. Martin Osei of celebrity Golf Club won the male event with 35 net and was followed by Kang Kin Son of Tema Golf Club and Joseph Daglo Tafo.

Fourteen-year-old Italian Niccolo Catto, a pupil of the Lincoln Preparatory in Abelenkpe, Accra, won the youth category with 79 gross and was closely followed by Joseph Mensah (80) who beat A. Afriyie on count-back.

The winners were each presented with a trophy and items from the sponsors, Mobitel, Operators of Buzz GSM, including SIM cards. Each winner would also have a weekend of two at any of the Golden Beach Hotels.

Dr Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah, who represented the Minister of Education and Sports, Yaw Osafo Maafo, was the special guest of honour.