International Pairs, the world’s largest competition of its kind for club golfers, has come a long way since it was founded ten years simply as a tournament for players in Hampshire to celebrate the millennium.

But not even its founder Ross Honey was prepared for the welcome he received when he visited Nigeria this summer - when none other than King Emir of Birin Gwari, a traditional ruler in northern Nigeria, greeted him.

Honey flew to the country’s capital Lagos to witness Nigeria’s International Pairs national finals for the first time and admitted that he was staggered by the interest in his visit and the competition.

The Hampshire businessman was guest of honour at a reception for Emir and 400 people at the Ikoyi Golf Club, while Nigeria will send a 20-strong party to the 2008 International Pairs World Final when it is held in St Andrews in Scotland in September.

“Nigeria is one of the most amazing places in the sub-region and nothing could have prepared me for the welcome I received. It was overwhelming,” said Honey, who lives in Horndean and is chairman of International Pairs.

“It’s incredible to see how quickly International Pairs has taken off here. There were 600 per cent more people taking part this year than in 2007.

“Scotland may be land of golf, but Nigeria is made up of one of the happiest group of people in the world and it‘s a joy to see their interest in the game. I have met some of them and they have been truly amazing.”

This year will be the second that Nigeria has sent a pair to the International Pairs World Final as golf continues to grow in popularity in Africa and 74 pairs took part in the national final at Ikoyi.

Christopher Obije and Muyideen Olaitan will be the country’s proud representatives when the event is staged at The Duke’s, St Andrews, next month from September 21-23 and competitors from 30 countries across the globe will do battle for the right to be crowned as the 2008 world champions. 

The 2008 world final, the fifth in International Pairs’ history, promises to be the most spectacular yet with competitors set to march through the historic streets of St Andrews accompanied by the St Andrews Pipe Band and schoolchildren from across Fife as part of a glittering opening ceremony.

In addition, the competition, which has been backed by Visit Scotland for the last six years, is poised to get even bigger in the next 12 months as it expands into 52 countries including the Caribbean, Australia and Russia.

Honey added: “I really believe we haven’t scratched the surface of what we can achieve and it’s very exciting.

“We have been able to establish fantastic international partners all over the world. And I think with the people and global family we have created we can build an amazing means of moving forward.”

Scarborough South Cliff pair Shaun Smith and Simon Deaves claimed glory at the 2007 world final and Dawlish Warren duo Deen Graves and Martyn Ashcroft will have the honour of leading the home challenge at St Andrews after being crowned UK champions last October.

For more information on International Pairs and how to take part, visit www.internationalpairs.com or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .