Teenage sensation Oyero needs sponsorship to African Junior Open

One of Nigeria’s fast rising youngsters, Destiny Oyero, is at the verge of moving up in the junior ranks, but he needs financial support from well-meaning Nigerians to make that move.

Oyero wants to feature in the forthcoming African Junior Open billed for San Lameer Golf Resort in South Africa in August 2021. But getting a sponsor for his trip to the event is a major issue that he has not been able to deal with successfully.

Oyero’s manager, Yomi Oyero, who is also his father, believes playing among the best youths from across Africa will help the lad to develop his game further.

He said, “Destiny has been doing great… he has won many trophies playing with ladies and men, due to lack of sponsors of junior tournaments in Nigeria.

“The only tournament most cherished by junior golfers is the Awa Ibraheem Junior Open that normally comes up once a year in October, which he has won in his category in 2018 and 2019, but the tournament was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Now, he is looking forward to the African Junior Open coming up in August in South Africa at the San Lameer Golf Resort. All he needs is sponsorship to represent Nigeria, because the country’s junior golfers are yet to be featured in that tournament due to lack of awareness and sponsorship.”

The African Junior Open is the biggest and most competitive junior tournament in the continent and also serves as a qualifier to the World Junior Championship hosted by U.S.

Meanwhile, another junior sensation, Odey Alechenu, a product of David Mark Golf Academy, Otukpo in Benue State, who has been dreaming of a professional career since graduating from the academy in 2017, needs help to make the professional grade.

Alechenu, 19, was a member of Team Delta who swept the highest gold medals at the Edo 2020 National Sports Festival. He will join the next Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) of Nigeria Qualifying School programme if he gets a sponsor.

“I am 100 percent ready for the next PGA Q’School, but my biggest problem has been sponsorship. I don’t have the money to enroll for the exercise and nobody is willing to sponsor somebody; becoming a professional is my dream in golf,” he said.

Alechenu’s worries invariably, justifies some stakeholders’ call for the intervention of individuals and golf bodies as the Nigeria Golf Federation (NGF), Ladies Golf Association of Nigeria (LGAN) and the PGA of Nigeria giving some reprieve to some of the zealous players.

“There are some young boys from Benue who are playing fantastic golf and should not be allowed to waste; the NGF; LGAN; the PGA of Nigeria and individuals should help sponsor them,” said Ben Oghuma, a golf facilitator in Benin City, Edo State during the festival.

The PGA of Nigeria through its Secretary, Jide Bolaji, disclosed that the date for the next PGA Qualifying School would be revealed after the ‘Special Women Training’ expected to hold between September and October, 2021.

Alechenu, who has represented Nigeria in many junior tournaments and has won laurels at various junior championships, hopes somebody or organisations would come to his rescue before the next Qualifying School.