Lagos — Chief Sam Iredia, former NNPC Group Managing Director Jackson Gaius-Obaseki and ace course designer, Abushie Odihili are among the top players expected to be in the thick of action tomorrow for the MTN International Pairs regional qualifiers, which hold at Benin Golf Club.

The tournament, which holds over 18 holes, will see the players jostling for tickets for the National Final, which holds in Lagos on June 7-8 where the winners will pick the tickets to represent Nigeria at the World Pairs in Scotland.

Odihili, a former captain of Benin Golf Club, is already upbeat about his prospects emerging from the region as one of the qualifiers. "I have been part of the MTN events in the past. I even won their inaugural MTN Classic in 2001 and I have always been pleased to participate in their event. I believe a lot of amateur event organisations have a lot to learn from them" he said. The MTN International Pairs is one of the two events that make up the MTN Golf Tour (the other being the MTN World Golfers Championship). This year's edition of the International Pairs pre-qualifiers teed-off in Lagos on March 15. The Benin leg is the second in the series of five pre-qualifying series.

It would be the turn of Ikeja Golf Club on April 19th while the other regional qualifiers are proposed for IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja and Kaduna Golf Club respectively.