The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, teed off the Telecel 69th Asantehene Open Golf Championship on Friday, June 26, on the lush greens of the Royal Golf Course.

The long-standing Golf Championship is on from June 24 to June 27, 2026, at the Royal Golf Club in Kumasi.

Asantehene took his first stroke together with four other golf players in a majestic and colourful opening ceremony.

The prestigious event, held under the auspices of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, brings together over 150 top professional and amateur golfers from across Ghana and Africa at the 100-acre course.

Asantehene excited the fans with his long strokes as all the players competed on 4 of the 18 professional holes.

Telecel Ghana has been the competition’s headline sponsor since 2017.

The move is one of Telecel’s Ashanti Month celebrations in June. The month-long campaign is focused on promoting sports and culture in the Ashanti Region.

Speaking to the media after the event, Komla Buami, Director External Affairs at Telecel Ghana, highlighted the company’s commitment to playing a role in the development of the Ashanti Region.

“Today, we are here to play a very exciting game with the Asantehene,” he said. “For us at Telecel, it’s an exciting month for us, and we are excited that our presence here today is promoting culture, is promoting sports, and it’s also promoting networking.”

Mr. Buami added “I’m sure you do know that golf is one of the activities that bring like minds together. We receive players from over nine to 10 countries in Africa who are gathered here, and we are excited that Telecel is the headline sponsor of this activity.

“We hope that by this intervention, our business will get closer to the people of the Ashanti region, our business will get closer to the seat of Asanteman, the palace, and that we’re gonna have a fruitful intervention, in what we call the Ashanti Month here in the region.”

He also revealed the other corporate social responsibilities that accompany the sponsorship of the golf championship.

“This is one of the many activities that we are doing here in the region. From here, we’re also going to move to Kumasi South Hospital, where we have identified some needs in the hospital.

“We will be making some donations to the hospital and also adopt the hospital, the pediatric unit of the hospital, for our support for the next couple of months in the region,” said Mr Buami.