The race to this year’s International Pairs national finals billed to hold at Le Meridiem Ibom Golf Club in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State will begin at the golf section of Ikoyi Club 1938, on July 28, the Chief Executive Officer of Falcon Golf Development Company, Remi Olukoya, has disclosed.

The Ikoyi qualifiers will feature about 70 teams while the best 15 pairs will qualify for the national finals. Attention will then shift to Port Harcourt Golf Club, host venue for golfers from the South-south and South-east region on August 3-4.

Golfers from the Northern part of the country will converge at IBB International Golf and Country Club in Abuja for Northern states regional qualifiers in September 21- 22.

Qualifiers from the regions will do battle in Uyo on October 5-8, where the nation’s representatives will emerge.

The winning pair will be given an allexpense paid trip to Portugal where the world finals of International Pairs have been scheduled to hold on November 6-10.

Also at stake are two business class return tickets to Lisbon, Portugal, for the winners and an economy class return ticket to Paris for a hole-in-one on the famous Hole 12, Par 3 on Ibom Golf Resort by Air France and 25 per cent discount on the airfares for the anybody who wants follow the winners to Portugal.

Explaining why competition was expanded, Olukoya said the reason was to give every golfer the opportunity to be part of the competition, just as he said the event offers lots of opportunities for laundering the nation’s image.