ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — John Mahama was sworn in as president of Ghana for a third time Tuesday against the backdrop of the country’s worst economic crisis in a generation. Thousands of Ghanaians from all walks of life attended the ceremony in the capital.
Mahama, the opposition leader who started his political career as the communications minister, won the presidential election late last year after pledging to tackle the economic crisis, corruption and unemployment.
Click to Gallery
Supporters of Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama, attend his inauguration ceremony, at the Independence Square in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, centre, is seen among the guests attending Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama inauguration ceremony, at the Independence Square in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Liberia's President Joseph Boakai, centre, seen among the guests during Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama inauguration ceremony, at the Independence Square in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Burkina Faso's President Ibrahim Traoré, left, with Botswana's President Duma Boko, and Guinea's President Mamady Doumbouya, seen among the guests attending Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama inauguration ceremony, at the Independence Square in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Supporters of President John Dramani Mahama, attend his inauguration ceremony, at the Independence Square in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Kenya's President William Ruto, centre, is seen among the guests attending Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama inauguration ceremony, at the Independence Square in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Supporters of President John Dramani Mahama, attend his inauguration ceremony, at the Independence Square in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
FILE -Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama addresses the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. Headquarters, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
Mahama, 66, who was previously Ghana's president between July 2012 and January 2017, will replace current President Nana Akufo-Addo. Mahama was first sworn in as president when President John Evans Atta Mills died in July 2012. He served the rest of that term and then won an election in 2012.
Mahama promised to “reset” the country on various fronts during a campaign that prioritized the economy and largely appealed to young Ghanaians who saw the vote as a way out of the country’s economic crisis.
“There is a seismic shift happening within the system of global economic dominance,” he said Tuesday in his address at the Independence Square in Accra. ”Now more than ever before, we need to strengthen our ties with our neighbors to ensure that we are working together to keep our sub-region safe.”
The ceremony was attended by several African leaders, including Rwanda's Paul Kagame, Kenya's William Ruto, Congo's Felix Tshisekedi and Burkina Faso's Capt. Ibrahim Traore.
In his address, Mahama said he will focus on economic restoration and stabilization of the macroeconomic environment, as well as on good governance and the fight against corruption.
The election in December for both president and members of parliament was held against the backdrop of the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation and was seen as a litmus test for democracy in a region shaken by extremist violence and coups. West Africa’s regional bloc of ECOWAS said the election was generally peaceful, a continuing trend in Ghana.
Andrew Takyi, founder of a local fintech company, Zee Pay, told The Associated Press: “l am hopeful that President Mahama will use the 24-hour economy he campaigned on to improve the country. He can use that to widen the tax base of small and medium enterprises to improve revenue.”
Innocent Appiah, a senior media research officer at the Precious Minerals Marketing Company, said he expects the Mahama administration to “prioritize transparency and accountability in the extractive industry, ensuring that the PMMC plays a more effective role in regulating and monitoring the sector.”
“I anticipate policies that promote value addition, local content development and community engagement, ultimately leading to increased revenue generation and socio-economic benefits for Ghanaians,” he said.
Enyonam Agble, a trader attending the inauguration, said: “There was so much corruption under President Akufo-Addo and all we want is the recovery of all that had been stolen to rebuild the country.”
Supporters of Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama, attend his inauguration ceremony, at the Independence Square in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, centre, is seen among the guests attending Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama inauguration ceremony, at the Independence Square in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Liberia's President Joseph Boakai, centre, seen among the guests during Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama inauguration ceremony, at the Independence Square in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Burkina Faso's President Ibrahim Traoré, left, with Botswana's President Duma Boko, and Guinea's President Mamady Doumbouya, seen among the guests attending Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama inauguration ceremony, at the Independence Square in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Supporters of President John Dramani Mahama, attend his inauguration ceremony, at the Independence Square in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Kenya's President William Ruto, centre, is seen among the guests attending Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama inauguration ceremony, at the Independence Square in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Supporters of President John Dramani Mahama, attend his inauguration ceremony, at the Independence Square in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
FILE -Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama addresses the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. Headquarters, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Ludvig Aberg will be the answer to a trivia question: He made the first birdie in TGL history.
And with that, the indoor golf competition that Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy had envisioned for years was finally underway.
TGL had its debut match Tuesday night, with Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele of New York Golf Club taking on Shane Lowry, Wyndham Clark and Aberg of The Bay Golf Club in the opener. The 15-hole match took just under two hours, which is exactly how TGL envisioned this to work. Final score: The Bay 9, New York 2.
“The last time I've had that much fun was probably last September,” Lowry said, turning toward Clark as he said that — the obvious reference being how he and Aberg were part of the European Ryder Cup team that beat Clark and the United States in the fall of 2023.
Yes, trash talk is part of TGL as well — even among teammates.
“Look, I had an amazing two hours,” Lowry said.
Lowry struck the first shot at 9:15 p.m. Four minutes later, the first hole in TGL history was complete when Aberg rolled in a 9-footer for the first point in league play. Yes, it moves that quickly.
“This was just a dream conjured up,” Woods said on the ESPN broadcast. “Rory and I were talking about it; it's hard to believe that dream came into reality and we were able to take golf into another stratosphere, really.”
Woods and McIlroy — part of the brain trust that put together this venture — were there, as expected. DJ Khaled was there too, milling about while players were warming up, showing off his swing with an imaginary club.
The venue is a 250,000-square-foot facility at Palm Beach State College. Players hit some shots into a video screen, some off real grass, some off turf, and the bunkers are not just real sand — it's sand from Augusta National Golf Club, the same sand Woods has at his home practice facility. It's super-high-tech, with data collected off every shot.
“Nobody had more fun than us,” Clark said.
Players wore microphones, there were betting options and fans surrounded the “course” in an intimate arena where music blared and noise was welcomed.
“A glorified man cave in a way,” Fowler said.
Once teams moved within 50 yards of the pin, they headed to a short-game complex — with a green that sits on a 41-yard-wide turntable and has about 600 devices underneath to change the contours. Players said it was difficult to make putts, which might be understandable.
Fans cheered. And they booed — a little, anyway. Schauffele heard those after he botched a chip, part of a night where not much went right for his team.
“I probably would have booed me too,” Schauffele said.
The players seemed to love it. Lowry had one-liner after one-liner. A couple of examples:
— “I'm going to be the Scottie Scheffler of indoor golf.”
— “A bit like myself. A bit chunky,” he said after one shot came up a touch short.
It ended with a 729-yard par-5 — a reachable 729-yard par-5, if that makes any sense. Handshakes and cheers all around when it was over, Lowry gave a big wave to the fans and the night was done.
“So much fun," Aberg said.
Woods loved it when some fans were, let's say, not exactly quiet as Clark lined up a putt on one of the early holes.
“You don't normally hear that at events,” Woods said. “You're going to hear that here.”
Woods is expected to debut for his Jupiter Links club on Jan. 14. McIlroy's debut could be Jan. 27 when Boston Common plays Jupiter Links. The regular season goes until March 4. There are 24 players — six teams of four — and the top four teams advance to the playoffs with a best-of-three championship series two weeks before the Masters.
Each team activates three players for a match, and the 15-hole competitions will be done in about two hours. It'll all be shown on ESPN platforms, often in prime time. The league has been in the works for a few years; the original plan was for it to start last year, but a storm slowed construction and organizers pushed the debut back to 2025.
“It's not traditional golf, yes,” Woods said. “But it is golf. And that's the main thing.”
And, as Fowler pointed out, the crowd in the arena is one thing, but how television viewers accept it will be the big test.
“If it does well there, the sky’s the limit with what you can do,” Fowler said. “You can put up arenas in different places. This is just the start.”
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Shane Lowry of The Bay Golf Club watches a shot on the tenth hole, during the inaugural match of the TMRW Golf League, against New York Golf Club, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. TGL features six teams of four players competing against each other in a tech-infused arena the size of a football field. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
CORRECTS CAPTION FROM NINTH HOLE TO TENTH - Rickie Fowler of New York Golf Club watches a shot on the tenth hole during the inaugural match of the TMRW Golf League, against The Bay Golf Club, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. TGL features six teams of four players competing against each other in a tech-infused arena the size of a football field. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
The Bay Golf Club's Wyndham Clark, left, and teammates Ludvig Aberg, top, and Shane Lowry celebrate winning the third hole during the inaugural match of the TMRW Golf League, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. TGL features six teams of four players competing against each other in a tech-infused arena the size of a football field. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Matt Fitzpatrick of New York Golf Club reacts after a shot during the inaugural match of the TMRW Golf League, against The Bay Golf Club, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. TGL features six teams of four players competing against each other in a tech-infused arena the size of a football field. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Rickie Fowler of New York Golf Club, third left, shakes hands with Shane Lowry of The Bay Golf Club as the teams prepare for the start of the inaugural match of the TMRW Golf League, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. TGL features six teams of four players competing against each other in a tech-infused arena the size of a football field. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
The Bay Golf Club's Shane Lowry, left, and teammates react as they beat New York Golf Club on the third hole, during the inaugural match of the TMRW Golf League, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. TGL features six teams of four players competing against each other in a tech-infused arena the size of a football field. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Ludvig Aberg of the Bay Golf Club watches his shot projected on a digital screen during the inaugural match of the TMRW Golf League, against New York Golf Club, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. TGL features six teams of four players competing against each other in a tech-infused arena the size of a football field. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Competitors from the Bay Golf Club and New York Golf Club walk on the green during the inaugural match of the TMRW Golf League, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. TGL features six teams of four players competing against each other in a tech-infused arena the size of a football field. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
The SoFi Center is seen ahead of the inaugural match of the TMRW Golf League, between New York Golf Club and The Bay Golf Club, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. TGL features six teams of four players competing against each other in a tech-infused arena the size of a football field. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Tiger Woods, right, and Rory McIlroy and stand on the green as they watch New York Golf Club and The Bay Golf Club warmup for the inaugural match of the TMRW Golf League, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. TGL features six teams of four players competing against each other in a tech-infused arena the size of a football field. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods stand on the green as they watch New York Golf Club and The Bay Golf Club warmup for the inaugural match of the TMRW Golf League, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. TGL features six teams of four players competing against each other in a tech-infused arena the size of a football field. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
