MALTA PLAYERS STRUGGLE IN TURKEY

05/10/2009

Malta team players, Andrew Borg and Chris Bergedahl, struggled with their golf during the 8th Turkish Amateur Open played at the Gloria Golf Club in Antalya Turkey between the 1st - 4th October.

The twelve year old Gloria course is a 6181-metre par-72 championship course featuring water on nine of its holes. Set in a pine forest, the fairways are described as narrow, difficult and challenging. The Gloria Golf Resort has hosted 4 European Seniors Tour events and is one of the host courses for the World Amateur Team Championships 2012.

81 amateur players from 23 countries entered this year’s tournament. The best handicap was at +4.5. 53 players had a handicap of scratch or better. The average handicap was calculated at +0.24. A cut of the best 72 scores was applied at the end of the second day.

With 11 bogeys and 6 double bogeys and a heartbreaking quadruple bogey on the 19th, Chris’s two birdies on the 27th and 30th holes were no consolation to the 17 year old, as he missed the cut by two strokes with an aggregate of 169 (84+85) strokes over 36 holes play.

Andy opening rounds of 80 and 79 contained 2 double bogeys, 12 bogeys, 21 pars and a birdie for an aggregate of 159 and a 51st place enabling him to proceed to the next two days of the competition. The 7-over par third round contained 3 triple bogeys, 1 double bogey, 4 bogeys, 8 pars and 2 birdies. This was followed by a final round of another 79 with 2 double bogeys, 8 bogeys, 5 pars and 3 birdies for a total aggregate of 317 strokes for the tournament. This placed Andy in joint 54th place overall.

The Championship was won by the player with the registered best handicap - Jurrian van der Vaart of The Netherlands - on a sudden death play off from Leo Lespinasse of France after both players finished the full compliment of holes with a 5 under par of 283.

For our RMGC boys “it was a tough week at the office”.