Oboh gets wildcard for 2017 Ladies Golf Open in Switzerland
Nigerian-born golf sensation, Georgia Oboh has been given a wildcard to the 2017 VP Bank Ladies Open in Switzerland after becoming the first Nigerian and African to feature in the Ladies Professional Golfers Association of America (LPGA) tournament.
The three-day 40,000 Euro prize money tournament will be hosted at Gams-Werdenberg Golf Club, Gams in Switzerland and will hold May 4-6. The tournament is part of the Ladies European Tour (LET) Access Series, and it remains the only ladies’ pro golf tournament in Switzerland.
According to the spokesperson for the organizers, Gabriele Nauer, this year would mark the fourth edition of the championship.
“It is the fourth time we are having a LET Access tournament in Switzerland. Every year we are giving some young girls the chance of a wildcards and to be part of the tournament. We think, that it is very important for the golf sport, that young people get the encouragement and progress to play a LET Access Series tournaments,” Nauer said.
She disclosed that with Georgia Oboh’s invitation, the Nigerian teenage prodigy would be the first African to feature in the tournament. “Georgia will be the first African at the VP Bank Ladies Open 2017.
An excited Oboh said that the tournament would afford her the chance to compete with the world’s best golfers in Europe.
“It is a great honour to be given the opportunity to compete with world class professional golfers on an international stage. I am very excited and look forward to my second professional event,” the golf prodigy said.
She however said her target in 2017 is to compete in top class tournaments. “My target is to compete in as many majors as possible, such as the US Women’s Open, RICOH Women’s British Open and the Evian Championships. I aim to do this by training hard and focus 100 percent on my goals and ambition,” she said.
“I consider it to be a great honour and another stepping stone towards my career on the LET and LPGA Tours. I hope this would also inspire other Nigerian and African girls to aspire to the same. That would make me really pleased if some girls take up the challenge too,” Oboh said.
Oboh is currently one of the most highly rated female golfers out of Africa and she was the continent’s best player at the Junior Orange Bowl International Invitational in the US and also took part in the 2016 US Women’s Open qualifier in Florida, a professional tournament with 20 professional golfers in the field.