Epe banks on familiarity to win Custodian Classic golf title

Francis Epe, the topmost ranked player on the Professional Golf Development Tour, seeks to leverage his familiarity with Ikoyi Golf Club to consolidate his position when the Custodian Classic tees off today. The competition will end on Saturday.

Epe, who won the inaugural Tour event on the PGD Tour, the Meristem Open, at Lakowe Lakes Golf and Country Estate, with a brilliant 207, nine under par, said he is ready for the event.

“This, I know, is a different event, but all I need is some focus and discipline,” he said.Beyond the course, Epe will have to battle some equally determined players, whose form has been on the rise of late. They include Nigeria’s former number one player, Oche Odoh, who has won many honours at the Ikoyi course, including a career-defining Lagos Amateur Open.

In-form Sunday Olapade is easily one of the biggest contenders for the Custodian honour on the account of his recent performance on the Nigerian Circuit. Others are Gift Willy, Daniel Pam and former Nigeria Open Champion, Lateef Lasisi, who incidentally made his historic win at the Ikoyi course too.

Speaking on the Tour, Group Managing Director of Custodian Investment Plc, Mr. Wole Oshin, said the event is a key investment aimed at supporting the huge sporting talents that abound in the country.

“There are huge opportunities that exist in rightfully channeling the energy and the sporting talents that we have, and we believe the platform provided by the Professional Golf Development Tour helps to make such investment easy,” he said.

The Custodian Classic is a 54-hole event featuring professional golfers from different West African countries, including, Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Togo.

According to Adefemi Taiwo, who is the director of operations on the Tour, the classics are primed to run effectively with cutting-edge management practices and with the aid of technology.

“This is our second event and I believe, the Tour keeps getting better as the event comes by. There are several things we are optimizing from the last events here and the same for the next event as well,” she said.