By Our Sports Correspondent
The Python Golf Club in Port Harcourt, last weekend, set a record for pre-tournament fundraising, just as golfers from different clubs prepare for what promises to be the best and biggest amateur championship in Nigeria.
In an unprecedented fashion, members opened their wallets and pumped in a staggering eighty two million naira (N82m) at an 18-hole kitty that was organised to unveil the theme and mascot of the 2026 Python Amateur Open championship which holds from November 17 to 21, 2026.
And so, before billboards and banners were hoisted, before approaching corporate bodies, before the first shot off the tee box, members voluntarily contributed the huge sum.
It was as dramatic as it was awe-inspiring. In less than two hours, it was N10m here, N5m there and sundry donations ranging from N3m, N2m, N1m to thousands of dollars amid raucous cheers.
It was all down to Chief Leo Edochie, Chairman of the Organising Committee who, in a rare show of the innovative disruption of the old order, leveraged his celebrity golfer status and internal collaboration built on close-knit relationship with the members to turn a rather routine mascot-unveiling kitty into a money-spinning venture.
Working closely with the equally pragmatic captain of Python Club, Chief Professor Johnbosco Ozigbu and other members of the Organising Committee, Edochie’s novel marketing strategies yielded ample results which require no further authentication that the November 17-21 tournament will be heavily financed.
An elated LOC Chairman’s said: “I pay tribute to all our members, my colleagues on the Organising Committee, our Board of Trustees and our ebullient captain, Chief Prof. Johnbosco Ozigbu, a man of immense means and principalities.”
“Our goal is to host a tournament like no other, and we need everyone’s support to achieve it. The money we realised today (Saturday) tells you everything. It’s member-funded, member-driven. When the house believes this much before sponsors even come in, then you know this tournament will be special.”
The funds are earmarked for an expanded prize purse, course upgrades, junior golf development, live screaming of matches on massive screens facing the road and within the Club, as well as hospitality tents and community engagement where non golfers will be sponsored to walk the fairways and experience first hand professional and amateur players in hot competition for the exciting prizes on offer.
Though an amateur event, this year’s Python Open will witness invited professional players from ten clubs battle for the thirty million naira prize money at stake.
According to Edochie, the target was never just to raise money, but to set a standard.
“The member-support which you witnessed was about laying the foundation before asking others to build on it.
“What we did was to ask our members to believe first. They responded with over N80 Million. That was not a donation; that was a declaration.”
The targeted purse for the championship, according to Edochie, is two hundred million naira (N200M). He is confident that the Organising Committee will seize the momentum to attract national brands and corporate organisations “to partner with us.”
With the involvement of professional players, a bigger field of amateurs, live scoring, enhanced media coverage, and structured participation by businesses, guests and non golfers,
a strategic growth plan to revolutionize golf at the Python Golf Club is in the offing.
Club captain, Prof. Ozigbu emphasized that the tournament aligns with the club’s military-rooted values of discipline, integrity, and excellence.
“Python Golf Club has always been about more than golf. It’s about brotherhood, service, and raising the bar. With our Celebrity Golfer (Edochie) driving the Organising Committee, and with the huge support we’ve seen, this Python Open will be a tournament of firsts and one that will be remembered for many years to come, thanks to the innovations that people shall experience.
“Raising such huge amount internally before sponsorships is virtually unheard of, at least in our clime. And doling out ten million naira of his own, Ozigbu is leading by example.
Dr. Ikenna Okafor, the sole sponsor of Nigeria’s elite golf championship was on hand, alongside his wife, Dr. Esther Okafor as the couple, in separate donations of big sums of money left the crowd cheering and screaming.
The Python Open comes just days after this year’s CIO Pro-Am tournament in which Chief Okafor, the sole sponsor collaborated with the Safari Tour and which attracted professionals from no less than ten African countries.
“We’ve had big tournaments here before,” said Okafor. “And we will continue to set records. The captain (Ozigbu) and our celebrity golfer (Edochie) are doing a fantastic job and we will continue to support them.”
For Edochie, the message is clear: “Our members have spoken. Now, we must deliver a tournament worthy of that trust.”
At exactly 2:09 PM on Saturday, September 5, 2026, Brig-Gen. Olumide Ojo, Python Club’s vice captain and representative of the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Everest Okoro, unveiled the tournament Mascot to the delight of the members.
