http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=93580:oboh-two-others-to-represent-nigeria-at-us-kids-world-championships&catid=60:golf-weekly&Itemid=622

WINNER of the maiden Kids Golf International (KGI)-organised African Junior Championships, 11-year old Georgia Oboh, will, alongside two other Nigerian kids, represent Nigeria at the United States (U.S.) Kids Junior World Golf Championships billed for Pinehurst, North Carolina, from August 2 to 4.

The other Nigerian flagbearers are Samuel Manchang from Jos and Jordan Thompson based in the United Kingdom.

The three-day tournament, usually held in the setting of tall southern pines and Donald Ross greens, attracts over 1,200 participants from across the U.S. Over 30 countries are expected to take part in the competition.

Players aged five to 12 qualify for the World Championship through World Championship Qualifiers, local tours, European and regional championships, and performance in previous World Championships.

The African and British junior champion, Oboh, qualified to play in the competition with her sixth placement in the last Kids European Golf Championships. She also won the junior event of the First Lady tourney at the Ikeja Golf Club.

From age six, Oboh, solidly backed by her parents, has been preparing herself for the zenith by winning several kids and adult tourneys in Nigeria and abroad at different times.

Before now, she represented the UK at the Optimist Junior International and was in the Western European team that played against the rest of the world at the Van Horn Cup at the end of the European Championships. Her tenacity and winning attitude won the match for the European team.

In the 2011 season, she closed the year with victories in two championships in Florida - one in Boca Raton and another in West Palm Beach PGA - and came 11th in the regionals.

According to her mother, Evelyn, “as a result of her stellar performances and these victories, she has been invited to the World Championships in North Carolina next month. She is one of the three Nigerian kids that will play at the championships.

In the meantime, “my husband and I are also putting a programme in place to bring forward some young golfers from Nigeria.”

On October 24, 2010, Oboh, who managed to tie for first place at the Young Masters Golf in Hellidon Lakes, was presented with an Outstanding Social Behaviour Award by the University of Salford, UK. The award is given to young any person who makes an outstanding contribution to his or her community.

She said: “I won this prestigious award for my dedication and commitment to training, both in golf and academics, and for the assistance I give to other young golfers.

“This, thus, made me stand out as a role model in the African community in Diaspora. I have encouraged and assisted in the recruitment and training of both young and Nigerian lady golfers in London and Manchester, UK.”