Defending champion Vincent Torgah on Saturday shot an impressive eagle on the last hole as he came from behind to win the 2017 Tour Championship in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the tour championship which had teed off on Wednesday at the IBB International Golf and Country Club climaxed with the final round on Saturday.
Ghanaian Torgah started the final day of the tour championship 5 shots behind 54-hole leader Aaron Simfukwe.
But he shot 4 under in the first nine holes and started the back nine holes with a double bogey on hole 10 and a bogey on hole 11.
He also shot a birdie on hole 17 and an eagle on hole 18 to finish the round 4 under par 68, amassing a total score of 294.
Zambian Simfukwe after leading the tour championship for three days played 4 over par 76 on the final day to lose out to Vincent Torgah on the last three holes with a total score of 297.
This was his second tournament of the West Africa Golf Tour 2017 season.
NAN also reports that Zimbabwe’s Visitor Mapwanya (300), Nigeria’s Gift Willy (301) and Kingsley Oparaku (302) finished in third, fourth and fifth position respectively.
Torgah is also the winner of the 2017 Order of Merit of the West Africa Golf Tour and has accumulated four victories in the Tour this year.
He also won the 2017 Senegal Open, Sierra Leone Open and the Accra Open.
Torgah told NAN in his post-match comments that it was the first time he had won without having his “best stuff” and downplayed any notion that his victory would reverberate around the tour.
“I wasn’t trying to send a statement. I was just trying to win a golf tournament.
“My mental toughness was key to my victory today (Saturday) after a wobbly and nearly disastrous start in the first round.
“And just like that, I took back the title I nearly gave away with that ridiculous eagle on the final hole.
“I am grateful to God for this victory and will remember and cherish this moment for a long time to come,” he said.
Simfukwe on his part expressed mixed feelings after coming so close to winning the title, adding that Torgah was a better player on the final day.
“Jealous isn’t the word to describe how I feel right now, but I so wished I was in Torgah’s position right now.
“I probably had some feelings of anxiousness going into the final and I guess my nerves got the better part of me.
“It’s tough when you’ve got somebody that’s that good and hot starting the day five shots behind you after 54 holes.
“To recover so late after trailing me for three rounds took a resilience not many golfers possess and I tip my hat off for him.
“Even though I am sad I didn’t win after coming so close, I guess I have to agree that Torgah deserved it more. It was indeed an incredible comeback by the champion,” he said.
The tour championship, which was the last tournament of the 2017 season, had 40 players from eight different countries — Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Gabon and Germany — participating.
They competed for a share of the purse money of 50,000 dollars (about N18 million), in which the winner earned 6,000 dollars and 6,000 points for the order of merit.
The top five players in the Order of Merit points are Torgah, Mapwanya, Cameroon’s Issa Nlareb, Pristhy Nji also from Cameroon and Oparaku.
The 2017 season had commenced in February with the FCT Classic.
It was followed by the Port Harcourt Classic in April, The Memorare in May, B & E in June, and The Nation@57 in September.
They were followed by The Nigeria Masters in October, with the season concluding with the Tour Championship and crowning also the winner of the 2017 Order of Merit.
Currently, Torgah, winner of four tournaments of the West Africa Golf Tour, leads the Order of Merit with 23,000 points.
He is followed by Mapwanya with 19,550, Nlareb (14,850), Nji (14,663) and Oparaku (9,150) who are third, fourth and fifth respectively. (NAN)
