First Bank of Nigeria Limited, on Monday, December 28, 2020, teed-off its annually sponsored Lagos Amateur Golf Championship at the Ikoyi Club 1938.
The competition, which debuted over 59 years ago, is one of the longest-running international amateur events in the country and is endorsed by the United State Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal and Ancient (R&A) of Scotland.
Preceding the 2019 event, the golf tourney reached the notable milestone of being listed amongst the golf tournaments in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).
Tournament highlights and expectations
Peter Eben-Spiff made history, as he became the first Nigerian ever to get listed in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, courtesy of his victory in the competition. He is now expected to lead a field of low handicap players in this year’s edition.
Eben-Spiff, who had maintained a top 5-finish in the last two editions before his victory last year, closed with a 76, for 16-over par, over 56-holes to win the R&A and USGA sanctioned Championship.
Apart from Eben-Spiff, players like Muyideen Olaitan, three times winner; Port Harcourt-based S U Amadi, Uche Eze; two-time winner, Biodun Oyewoga and Policemen, Milo Ajah are some of the players to watch out for in this year’s edition. The 2018 edition was won by Sam Njoroge who’s a Kenyan.
What you should know
FirstBank’s sponsorship of the event is in recognition of its health benefit to players whilst providing a platform to enable golfers to achieve their dream of global recognition and participation.
Speaking on the golf tournament, the Chief Executive Officer of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, reiterated the financial institution’s commitment to the development of the competition.
“This tournament started 59 years ago, is now one of the international golf events which bring together the best amateur golfers in Nigeria. We are happy and appreciate the fact that this is a very important yearly activity in the golfing calendar in Nigeria, and that explains the passion, commitment and importance which First Bank of Nigeria Limited attach to it”, he concluded.
The three-day competition is however a closed Championship that is open to Ikoyi Club members alone. According to , the sponsoring outfit, organizers of the event, and Concierge Sports, the tournament was organised in observance of the full COVID-19 protocols explained.
The 56-hole golf tournament, to be played over three days would be rounded off with a grand finale and awards ceremony on Wednesday, 30 December 2020.
About First Bank
First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is the premier Bank in West Africa and the leading financial inclusion services provider in Nigeria for over 125 years.
With over 750 business locations and over 82,000 Banking Agents spread across 99% of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria, FirstBank provides a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services to serve its over 15 million customers.
The Bank has an international presence through its subsidiaries, FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone, and Senegal, as well as a Representative Office in Beijing.
The Bank has been nimble at promoting digital payment in the country and has issued over 10million cards, the first bank to achieve such milestones in the country. FirstBank’s cashless transaction drive extends to having more than 9million people on its USSD Quick Banking service through the nationally renowned *894# Banking code and over 3 million people on FirstMobile platform.
Since its establishment in 1894, FirstBank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on the fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, optimised risk management and leadership.
Over the years, the Bank has led the financing of private investment in infrastructure development in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in the Federal Government’s privatisation and commercialisation schemes.
With its global reach, FirstBank provides prospective investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities that are available in Nigeria, an internationally competitive world-class brand and a credible financial partner.
FirstBank has been named “Most Valuable Bank Brand in Nigeria” six times in a row (2011 – 2016) by the globally renowned “The Banker Magazine” of the Financial Times Group; “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria” for seven consecutive years (2011 – 2017) by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards and “Best Bank in Nigeria” by Global Finance for 15 years.
The bank’s brand purpose is to always put customers, partners, and stakeholders at the heart of our business, even as we standardise customer experience and excellence in financial solutions across sub-Saharan Africa, in consonance with our brand vision “To be the partner of the first choice in building your future”. Its brand promise is to always deliver the ultimate “gold standard” of value and excellence. This commitment is anchored on our inherent values of passion, partnership, and people, to position You First in every respect.