Nigeria’s Christopher Francis defied all odds and a relatively strong field to win the 2019 Gold Fields PGA Championship with a two-shot victory.
Francis ended a six-year drought for an international Championship on Saturday when he claimed the sixth edition of the Gold Fields PGA Championship at the Damang Golf course.
He is the first expatriate to win the Championship. He took dominance on all four rounds of the 72-hole Championship en route to battling off the absolute control that the Ghanaian golfers have had on the tournament since its inception six years ago.
The Niger State native finished off with a one-under 71 for a total nine-under 279 to close his campaign.
Christopher Francis in the early rounds briefly lost the top position to Vincent Torgah who was later disqualified due to breaking a Ground Under Repair (GUR) rule on hole 15. A late charge from Emos Korblah was not enough to upstage Christopher was on a hot streaking chase for the ultimate prize.
Emos Korblah ended on a total score of 281 for the second place while Captain of the PGA of Ghana, Mawuli John finished third with a 288 total.
Visitor Mapwanya from Zimbabwe followed in the fourth place with a total score of 291 after edging into fifth place Andrew Odoh who also carded a total score of 291.
Winner of last year’s tournament, Kojo Barni couldn’t upset the field as he stayed in a yawning distance from the leaderboard with 293 for the sixth position.
For Christopher however, winning his first international PGA Championship in Ghana was quite a great deal especially as he had to fight off such a strong field of tournament favorites in the process.
“I feel like a true champion winning outside my country for the first time since I became a pro,” Francis said after his victory, which earned him GH¢ 40,000 in prize money.
“Playing with a legend like Emos (Korblah), I was actually nervous, but I harnessed it to my advantage”.
Evergreen Victor Brave Mensah clinched his third seniors title with a 322 total. The veteran golfer went home with a GH¢ 10,000 prize and a trophy.
In his closing remarks, the Executive Vice President and Head of West Africa Goldfields, Mr Alfred Baku said his outfit was impressed with the output of the golfers during the competition.
He added that as part of efforts to improve golfing standards in Ghana, his outfit would soon commence a golf training program for Junior High Schools and Senior High Schools in the country.
TheGolfer Online
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