Korblah Tops Nigeria Ranking

In a mid-year review of the on-going golfing season in Nigeria, visiting Achimota Golf Club assistant Pro Emos Korblah now leads the Nigeria PGA ranking.

"It is good news, if I now lead. But I surely would be back soon to defend the title" he told Businessday from his base in Ghana shortly after the order of merit was released by the PGA in Lagos.

Korblah, has since the 2007 golfing season been joggling his homeland and Nigeria and has also featured in pockets of event in other West African countries.

He won the Senegal Open in March and returned to Ghana to win the Ghanaian Open in April (Where he pocketed a paltry winners' $1, 000 US Dollars) before dashing down for the last two PGA events on the Nigeria tour.

By leading the Nigerian Tour, he becomes the first Non-Nigerian in a long time to have routed the local order-of-merit. A feat which Sierra Leonean James Lebbie and late Bureh Kargbo has done in the past.

Co-incidentally, Korblah also tops the ranking back in Ghana and that makes him the hottest player on the West Coast of Africa at the moment, given that the two tours are the most active on this side of Africa.

As it concerns leading foreign tours, Nigerian players that has given it a trial include Lateef Lasisi, Dominic Andrew, Tony Uduimoh Bello Seibidor and the all time famous Peter Akakasiaka but none is in the form that Korblah is right now.

"I think I am in my element right now and I cannot pretend about it" he said when he toppled Umoh Edet on the last day to win the first LNI tournament at the Benin Golf Club last month. That event turned out as the only victory he has to his name in Nigeria out of all four ranking events that the PGA had rated the player with.

At the Oyinlola's Kitty late January where he made his debut, he finished a dismal 21 st, he however missed the second ranking event, the Seedvest tournament at Ibadan while returning to pick the title in Benin and consolidating with a third place finish at the 9th CMCL Championship penultimate week.

Following closely is equally in-form player unattached twenty-five year old Edet Umoh who lost narrowly to Korblah in Benin and placed second at the CMCL event. The only event Umoh has won this year was "the OBJ tourney" in Abeokuta which was not a ranking event.

"That was why I was pained when I lost the Benin event. I know it would cost me a lot. But I am happy I got my pound of flesh back" he said referring to finishing one step ahead of Korblah at the CMCL Open penultimate week.


NIGERIA ORDER OF MERIT

1. EMOS KORBLAH, ACHIMOTA GOLF CLUB
2. UMOH EDET, UNATTACHED
3. GBOYEGA OYEBANJI, IKEJA GOLF CLUB
4. NOJEEM SHOFELA, MICCOM GOLF CLUB
5. FRIDAY ADACHE, ILORIN GOLF CLUB
6. MIKE UBI, AIR ASSAULT GOLF CLUB
7. FRANCIS UGBONG, DOLPHIN GOLF CLUB
8. LATEEF LASISI, ABEOKUTA GOLF CLUB
9. SUNDAY ODEGHA, MINNA CANTONEMENT GOLF CLUB
10. ALLI ABDULLAHI, ZARIA GOLLF CLUB
10. OCHE ODOH, IBB INT'L GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB