Golfers 'go missing'

Nigerians will not be joining Tiger Woods on the course

Golf officials are mystified by the non-appearance of more than 50 Nigerian and Ghanaian golfers who entered the Open championship but failed to turn up.

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club told the BBC it had been surprised to receive so many applications from West Africa for the contest.

A total of 58 people applied for visas to play in the qualifying rounds at one of 16 courses on Monday, but only five turned up.

Golf is for the higher echelons of society, so it is very doubtful that the Nigerians collected the visa and absconded

Peter Ogbonnaya
Nigerian High Commission

Open secretary Peter Dawson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We do get a fair number of applications from West African countries.

"Fifty-eight was higher than normal but not so high so it would to arouse enormous suspicion."

But he said they had not heard from those golfers who had failed to turn up.

"We have no idea if they got their visas or came into the country," he said.

Elite game

Peter Ogbonnaya, head of information at the Nigerian High Commission, said: "I am very surprised. Golf is an elite game in Nigeria.

"It is for the higher echelons of society, so it is very doubtful that the Nigerians collected the visa and absconded.

"It is possible that they didn't collect their visas or had some other flight problems."

He said it was by no means a "walkover" for sportsmen to get a visa.

But if the players do eventually turn up for the championship at Muirfield next week, Mr Dawson warned that they would be disqualified anyway.

A UK Home Office spokesman said: "If they had entered the UK on visitor visas for six months they would not have breached any conditions by failing to turn up to play golf.

"They don't need a work permit to play in a tournament."