The championship trophy and a cash prize of $5,000 are up for grabs as the 26th IBB International Golf and Country Club Ladies Open Championship officially teed off yesterday amid a joyful atmosphere.
No fewer than 450 amateur and professional female golfers from 50 clubs across Nigeria and five other African countries—Ghana, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Uganda—are competing for honours during the three-day event.
Speaking at the press conference prior to the tournament’s ceremonial tee-off, the lady captain of the IBB Golf Club, Julie Donli, stated that the tournament has grown in significance, fostering camaraderie, promoting excellence in women’s golf, and inspiring the next generation of female golfers.
“Our goal is to continuously elevate the standard of this event and to create opportunities for more women to participate and enjoy the sport,” Donli remarked.
According to her, in addition to the opportunity for participants to compete with some of the best golfers from across the country and beyond, the competition is a celebration of women in sport, with the winner of the professional event set to receive a prize of five thousand U.S. dollars ($5,000).
The chairman of the tournament’s technical committee and the first Nigerian female professional golfer, Uloma Mbuko, explained that the event will also allow players to earn world rankings.
“It is a world ranking tournament, meaning that players will earn rankings according to the world ranking system,” she said.
“The main event will commence tomorrow (today), and we are expecting around 200 ladies. In this category, we have female professionals, those in the main event playing off handicaps of 0-18, a division for handicaps of 19-28, veterans, super veterans, and a special category.
“This tournament is all-inclusive, and we are looking forward to world-standard golfing over these three days,” Mbuko added.
Meanwhile, defending champion Evelyn Oyome, who is also the president of the Ladies Golf Association of Nigeria (LGAN), expressed her determination to defend her title. “I would like to say that I am the defending champion; I have won it twice back-to-back and look forward to defending the title again,” Oyome stated.
Oyome, a seasoned amateur golfer from Ikoyi Club, beat off intense pressure from Ugandan golfer Kabasweka Peace on the final day of the 2025 edition to secure the IBB Ladies Open crown for the second consecutive year, having previously won the 2024 edition.
