Senate President David Mark yesterday led other prominent Nigerians at the tee-off for amateurs at the 3rd leg of the Glo Golf Tour taking place at the IBB Golf and Country Club, Abuja.

Senator Mark performed the ceremonial tee-off as other golfers including former Foreign Affairs Minister, Babagana Kingibe, Rtd General IBM Haruna and former Minister of Special Duties Yomi Edu took to the course to compete for honours in the amateur category of the competition which entered its second.

Others included former Secretary to the Federal Government, Yayale Ahmed, former Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Parry Osayande, Senator Ayo Arise, Chief Joe Gadzama (SAN), former Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Austin Oniwon and Chief Olusola Adekanla.

Mark said Glo's sponsorship of the tournament and involvement has created more awareness and followership of the game in Nigeria. "I am happy to note that we have players from different countries in Africa competing in the tour. It is a thing of pride for our country and I commend Globacom for it. Good players can emerge from this and I believe by next year, it (Glo Golf Tour) can even become a world tour with international players taking part in it," the Senate President said.

"Through this, we can get young players who can effectively compete outside with the best international stars. The Glo Golf Tour has the highest prize money and this is wonderful. If other corporate bodies can emulate Globacom, I am sure the sport has very bright prospects in Nigeria," Mark added.

The amateur players ended their competition yesterday while the professional players entered Day Two of the competition, with the original 80 players who started on Tuesday reduced to 40.

The top contenders include Vincent Torgah and Andrew Oche Odoh. The Pro-Am purse for the tour is N62.5million, the biggest in Africa.