Royal Golf Club’s Kwabena Poku delivered a near seamless 73-70 to close with 143 for the ultimate 2013 MTN Asantehene Gold Cup in Kumasi. The solid field and the seemingly tough course could not relinquish the desire of the 22-year-old electrician who first made the headlines when he won the 2011 Caddie Open at Achimota.
Poku arrived at the Kumasi tournament with complete control of his golf swing, his mindset and did approach every single tee with utter confidence during the two-day rounds. Golf marshals supervised the entire tournament.
In addition to the trophy and gold cup, he also received an Accra-London-Accra air ticket from Virgin Atlantic as well as products and services from MTN and other sponsors that included CAL Bank, Beige Capital, Bel-aqua, Coca Cola and GGBL.
He opened the campaign with six birdies that included the par-5 fourth, par-4 seventh, par-5 tenth, par-4 eleventh, par-4 fourteenth and par-4 sixteenth with medley of four bogeys and eight pars to complete the first round for 73.
Despite trailing other golfers on day one and a crushing hole one bogey on day two, Poku radiated the course with enough poise and focus to stay in the mix.
“I knew the only way to triumph was to remain calm and keep the focus, to play the course and not the player”, he said
He went on to deliver a thrilling 36 front nine after sinking two birdies with five pars and two bogeys. A bogey-free back nine complete with two birdies and seven pars were enough to keep other contenders in yawning distance.
Daniel Ntim also of the Royal Golf Club was four strokes back for second place whiles Achimota’s Joseph Klah scored a gross of 149 for third place. In the Ladies Scratch Division, Ivorian Viviane Koame held her nerves in an amazing fashion to clinch the trophy for the third time on a score of 168. Achimota’s Jessica Tei trailed second with 177 whiles Kumasi’s Cynthia Nyantakyi managed a score of 181 for third place.
Nicoline Cato from Achimota routed the Men Handicap division with a net score of 140 over two days to beat into second place William Takyi who returned a net of 145. S.F Essuman secured third position on a net score of 148. Mercy Ampofo sealed off the Ladies handicap Division with 150 net score whiles Nelly Hage and Vicky Agyei scored 159 apiece for second and third place respectively on countback. Attended by over three hundred golfers all over the country and the sub region, His Majesty Otumfuor Osei Tutu II thanked the participants for the honor He bemoaned the tendencies in the past where golfers cheated to favor their scores and warned that such traits defy the beautiful attributes of the game. Winners in the various categories received trophies, airline tickets, Smart Phones and other products and services from the sponsors.
Story by Collins Oppong
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