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SUMMER STROKES

18/08/2014

During these last few weeks, a handful of RMGC members and National Team players have travelled abroad to play in different tournaments. The MGA has been able to facilitate these trips mainly due to the funding it has received from the Maltese Olympic Committee.

The first to travel was Mia Allsopp who, at 15 years, had the privilege to be the first girl golfer to represent Club and Country in an overseas tournament when she participated in the 11th R&A Junior Open Championship. Mia was one of 122 junior players that hailed from 75 different countries in this prestigious tournament that was held for the first time in 1994 and won then by a young Sergio Garcia. This year’s tournament was held at the Wes Lancashire Golf Club in the middle of July just ahead and a few miles away from The Open. Mia’s +83 over two days were particularly punctuated by bad scoring on three successive par 4 holes > the 7th; 8th and 9th which on their own contributed to +29. Mia however came out of this tournament with “more determination to succeed in the sport that she loves”.

Despite placing last, Mia’s report for the tournament was chosen by the R&A to feature on their website in recognition of the spirit of what the game should be all about. If you are interested please link to: http://championships.randa.org/en/News/2014/August/Mia-Allsopps-player-report-from-the-2014-Junior-Open.aspx. The championship was won by Kevin Leblanc from Ireland with a five-over-par total of 221 over 54 holes.

At the same time, Quint van Beek started his experience in two successive tournaments held in mainland Europe. The first was at the Luxembourg International Amateur that was held at the Kikuoka Golf Club in Canach where Quint placed tied 61 out of 78 players. His +16 over two days was not sufficient to enable Quint to make the cut established at +11. The field was composed of players from surrounding countries mainly Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy and Netherlands but also from Israel, Serbia and Russia. The 54-hole tournament was won by a 23-year old Danish player with a score of -11.

From Canach, Quint travelled to the Netherlands Championships of the Nick Faldo Series that was held at the Burg Golf Club at Herkenbosch starting on the 23rd July. 140 players participated in this tournament with Quint being one of 14 overseas players participating. With results of 87; 85 and 84 Quint finished tied 86th. His scorecards over the three rounds show 23 pars and 3 birdies but they also signify that the main troublesome areas for our players remain the longer par 4s. The Championship was won by a 16 year old Dutch girl with a -4 for the tournament and one of only 4 players to have played par or better for the course over the three days.

It was then the turn of Andy Borg and JJ Micallef to try and feature in the Belgian International Amateur Championship held at the Royal Antwerp Golf Club at the end of July. With a field of 102 players the cut was placed at the best 42 plus ties which resulted in +3 or better after 36 holes. Unfortunately both our players failed to make the cut with scores of +6 and +5 respectively.

Andy’s birdie on his 2nd hole for the tournament was wiped off with two successive bogeys on the 5th and 6th and a double on the 9th hole. Three further bogeys on the back nine meant a +6 for 18 holes. Andy rallied back on his second day with a level par round for the course which consisted of four birdies; ten pars and four bogeys. However the damage was done on the first day and Andy had to content with a tied 62nd place. JJ’s one stroke to the better moved him to tied 51st place. His +3 on the first day was composed of three birdies and four bogeys but, like Andy, also of a double on the 9th hole. Having registered another three bogeys on his front nine of the second day, JJ then went birdie, eagle, par birdie, par, bogey to go level par for the day and still 3 over for the tournament before succumbing to a par, bogey, bogey finish to ruin his chances to make the cut. The tournament was won by a Belgian player with -12 after a play off.

The MGA also supported the trip of three national junior players to participate in the Slovak Junior Open that was held at the Welten Golf Club in Bac during the first week of August. John Micallef Stafrace placed a prestigious fifth in the under-18 category whilst Bernhard Abele and Matthew Cassar Torreggiani also gave “a good account of themselves”. The highlight was John’s -2 on his third day of the competition. Although Andy Borg achieved at least three under par scores during his experiences abroad, John’s feat was the first for a Maltese junior golf player.

The boys were accompanied to this tournament by Michael Abele. The rest of their experience is below and is an account by Michael himself.

The golf course in Bac is very demanding with narrow fairways, water hazards and sand bunkers protecting the greens. The putting was also very different from Malta as the greens were very fast. After the first practice round, the three Maltese players realised that they were in for a tough test. Torrential rain on Saturday night and all Sunday morning meant that the golf course remained closed on Sunday but re-opened on Monday afternoon when a second practice round was played.

On Tuesday, Stafrace started with a four-over-par 76 (on a par 72 course) and was in 12th place. Cassar Torreggiani produced some steady golf and came in at 11-over-par followed closely by Abele who carded 15-over-par after holding a very good position until the 15th hole where he lost seven shots.

Wednesday turned out to be very windy which made the course even more challenging for all the participants. Micallef Stafrace handled the conditions very well as he improved his score to two-over-par 74 to move ninth overall with a total of 150, just six shots off the top. Cassar Torreggiani played very similar to the previous day and remained 17th, just ahead of Abele in 18th place. Both made the cut of the 20 best scores. Abele was once again unlucky as, after playing the first nine holes just two-over-par, he struggled on the 10th to lose further ground.

The sun finally came out on Thursday. The weather was perfect, not too hot and with a very light breeze. Micallef Stafrace started the front nine with a fantastic score of four-under-par having played five pars and four birdies. He kept his cool and, despite a double bogey on the 12th hole, he pulled off a fantastic save on the 16th. His drive landed in the rough and was lying in an awkward position but Micallef Stafrace hit the ball nicely on to the green just five feet from the pin. He sank the putt for a birdie and was now again at minus-two for the day going into the last two holes which, despite the rising pressure, he both played par. Micallef Stafrace’s total score was 220 for the three days and he was the leader in the clubhouse with only six players still to come.

Eventually Micallef Stafrace finished fifth, just two shots behind third place. It was certainly one of the best results achieved by a Maltese junior golfer in an international tournament. Cassar Torreggiani once again had a very steady round to finish 17th with Abele playing his best round of the week with a 78 to hold on to 18th.

This summer’s experience will come to a head in a few days’ time when Andy Borg, JJ Micallef and Daniel Holland travel to Japan to play in the World Amateur Team Championship – Eisenhower Trophy. Nick Borg – Andy’s brother – who resides in Japan will assist the team during their experience taking the role of team manager to ensure that the players remain focused on their game and not have to deal with the daily administrative practicalities.