Achimota Golf Club member Yao Dogbe has been named the Golfer of the Year by the Ghana Golf Association (GGA).
Dogbe in the year under review won the 2021 Accra Open, 2021 Tafo Open and the 2021 CalBank Golf Championship.
The amateur golfer who plays off handicap +2 pipped James Akwaboah and Paul Chen to the award at the Ghana Golf Awards held last Friday in Accra.
Dogbe was not the only big winner of the night with Vincent Torgah reaffirming his status as Ghana’s leading professional golfer by claiming the Professional Golfer of the Year gong ahead of Lucky Ayisah and Maxwell Owusu.
The win capped a brilliant start to the 2022 season for Torgah who has won the Samsung PGA Prize and the Mahogany Open in February and March.
Other winners at the black-tie awards night included Joy Arkutu and Johannes DeBeer who were named the Female Senior Golfer of the Year and Male Senior Golfer of the Year respectively, Mr Tang Honh who emerged the Golf Personality of the Year and Augustine Manasseh and Constance Awuni who were both names Amateur Golfers of the Year in the male and female categories.
The remaining winners were William Nanka Bruce and Naomi Teye Lartey who won the Most Improved Golfer of the Year titles; Alliya Iddrisu and Bismarck Dapaah who claimed the Most Promising Golfer titles; and Jacob Adongo and Gianna Gakpe who emerged winners of the Junior Golfer of the Year titles.
Celebrated veteran female golfer Mona Myles-Lamptey and Mike Ezah were also presented with Lifetime Achievement Awards for their contributions to the development of the sport and inducted into the GGA Hall of Fame.
In an address before the awards were handed out, the President of the GGA commended various sponsors for staying committed to the sport during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also commended all the winners for giving off their best during what he described as a “difficult period” for the sport in the country.
On his part, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Mustapha Yussif commended the GGA for working towards shifting the elitist perceptions of golf, assuring the association of the support of the government to develop the sport in Ghana.
The awards were also graced by the President of the Ghana Olympic Committee, Ben Nunoo Mensah, statesman Sir Sam E. Jonah and the Kenyan Ambassador to Ghana, Mugendi Barine.
