Zambia’s Aaron Simfukwe on Friday edged a step closer to clinching the 2017 West Africa Golf Tour (WAGT) Championship after holding a 5-shot lead heading into the final round.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the tour championship had teed off on Wednesday at the IBB International Golf and Country Club in Abuja.
It is expected to climax with the final round on Saturday.
Simfukwe who took an early one shot lead from tee-off on day one, continued his fine form on day two, taking a two-stroke lead.
After this, he stretched his lead to five shots in the third round with a total score of 221.
Nigeria’s Gift Willy scored 5 over par 77 and maintained his second position after 56 holes with a total score of 226.
The defending champion, Ghana’s Vincent Torgah, who tied for second position, has moved closer to the lead.
The Ghanian played the best round of the day course par with 3 birdies in the front nine.
Also, Nigeria’s Kingley Oparaku moved up from 7th to 4th position in the leaderboard with a total score of 227.
He was followed by Cameroonian Michel Boula and Zimbabwe’s Visitor Mapwanya, who were tied in fifth with a joint score of 229.
“I think everyone was hoping for the best, but this is definitely my title to lose at this point,” a confident Simfukwe said.
“I feel better and more relaxed going into the final round. My swing feels better, and the putting stroke is getting there. Even though I was a little nervous at the start of the tournament, I think I putted well today (Friday).
“But it’s going to be a whole different ball game tomorrow (Saturday), when we get on those slick greens as I can see that Willy and the defending champion, Torgah are hot on my heels.
“All in all, I feel very confident about where I am going in and can hopefully hope for the best in the final decisive round.”
Defending champion Torgah, on his part, said: “I think I’m still in it. We’ve got one more day and I feel things will open up a little bit tomorrow.
“If that’s the case, I think a good, solid round should get me up,” he said.
The tour championship, which is the last tournament of the 2017 season, has 40 players from eight different countries — Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Gabon and Germany — participating.
They are competing for a share of the purse money of 50,000 dollars (about N18 million), in which the winner would earn 6,000 dollars and 6,000 points for the order of merit.
The top five players in the Order of Merit points are Torgah, Visitor Mapwanya, Issa Nlareb, Pristhy Nji 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 three tournaments of the West Africa Golf Tour, leads the Order of Merit. (NAN)
