JJ MICALLEF WINS THE 8TH MGA SHIELD

22/01/2015

The 8th edition of the Malta Golf Association Shield sponsored by NESCAFÈ DOLCE GUSTO was won by John (Jnr) Micallef with a differential score of 29 two ahead of Bernard Bugeja and three better than Maike Beekman and Catherine Milet.

The tournament reverted to a Medal stroke play for the first day and a Stableford for the second day with the Stableford points’ results subtracted from the Medal net scores to determine the overall placing. The re-scheduled competition (cancelled from November 2014 due to the storm that hit the Islands) was played in very favourable weather conditions and on a well presented golf course at Royal Malta.

32 ladies played their first day on Thursday 22nd January with Dodie Waterhouse registering the best score with a net 70 (68 when calculating the difference between the men and ladies’ tees) on countback ahead of Maria Woodward, Peta Hattersley and Joanne Cassar. The two female juniors Filippa Konig and Mia Allsopp came in with a net 72 (70) and 79 (77) respectively.

Out of the 79 men that played on Saturday 24th, 12 played to their handicap or better. JJ Micallef’s +1 handicap turned his gross 65 to a nett 66 to tie him with Bernard Bugeja, Patrick Brown and Thomas Jacobsen but still very much 3 shots behind the nett 64 carded in by Peter Gatt and Frank Wagg and 1 shot behind Andy Holland. The only junior boy in the field – Laurens Schulze Doering – came in with a nett score of 75 to place right in between his two girl counterparts.

Unfortunately, for personal reasons, the best lady could not play in the second day which as it progressed saw the main protagonists fail to retain their form. From the men Wagg, Gatt and Holland came in with 28, 27 and 30 points whilst the ladies Hattersley and Cassar came in with 34 and 33 respectively. Dave Hansen had the best score on the second day with 42 points just one ahead of Mike Jarvis whilst Sue Simmons with 38 points clinched the best score for day 2 for the ladies ahead of Maike Beekman and Catherine Milet.

Whilst Beekman’s and Milet’s score were sufficient to move them up to overall best third and fourth, JJ Micallef’s 37 points and Bernard Bugeja’s 35 points combined to their first day scores were more than good to give them overall first and second place for the tournament.
Filippa Konig clinched the prize for the best junior with 34 Stableford points whilst Tony Vella with a nett 72 on day 1 and 38 points on day 2 took the prize for the best senior player.

Sponsor prizes were forwarded as below (after count back; limit of one prize per player considerations and presentation attendance condition – where applicable).

Best net aggregate score from a youth golfer [«21] FILIPPA KONIG
Best net aggregate score from a senior player [»65] TONY VELLA
Best net score on Day 1 from a lady player DODIE WATERHOUSE
Best net score on Day 2 from a lady player SUE SIMMONS
3rd Best net aggregate score from a lady player MARIA WOODWARD
2nd Best net aggregate score from a lady player CATHERINE MILET
Best net score on Day 1 from a gentleman player PETER GATT
Best net score on Day 2 from a gentleman player MIKE JARVIS
4th Best net aggregate score from a gentleman player PAUL GRAY
3rd Best net aggregate score from a gentleman player DAVID HANSEN
2nd Best net aggregate score from a gentleman player BERNARD BUGEJA
Overall Best net aggregate score from a lady player MAIKE BEEKMAN
Overall Best net aggregate score from a man player JJ MICALLEF

Prizes were distributed by Mrs Doreen Balzan (RMGC Lady Captain), Mr Ron Feenan (RMGC Captain), Mr Naum Janakiev (NESTLE Malta General Manager) and Mr William Beck (MGA President) in the presence of Ms Alanna Baldacchino (NESTLE Malta Junior Product Manager) and Dr Michael Balzan (MGA Executive Council Member).