MARIA WOODWARD WINS THE 6TH MGA SHIELD

19/11/2012

The 6th Edition of the Malta Golf Association Shield, sponsored by Nescafé Dolce Gusto, was won by Maria Woodward with net scores of 63 and 69 giving her a comfortable two shot lead over the next best scores carded in by another female golfer – Hazel Halliday – and two juniors Bernhard Abele and Mia Allsopp.

28 ladies and 92 men signed up for the competition which was hosted at the Royal Malta Golf Club in Marsa. The ladies played their first day on Thursday 8th November whilst the men played theirs on Saturday 10th November. The players with the best 70 scores then played the final second day round on Sunday 11th November.

At the end of the first round three players led the field with a net 63 – the above mentioned Maria Woodward together with Stefan Borg Manduca and Andy Borg. Andy in fact played gross 62 (six under for the course) – the best for the tournament – which was adjusted to a net 63 due to his +1 handicap. Unfortunately, Andy had other commitments which saw him fly out of the country on Sunday and thus unable to play on the second day.

The main contenders after the first day and two shots behind Maria and Stefan were Chris Lewis and Mia Allsopp. At 13 years of age and in her first competitive season at the RMGC, Mia has the privilege to be the first ever girl golfer that has made it through the junior ranks in the Club’s 125 years of history.

The young lady kept her mettle on the second day and playing in the same flight as the other leaders managed to card in a net 69 for an aggregate of 134 enabling her to win the prize for the best youth golfer. Chris Lewis’ game however departed him on the second day and his net 80 dropped him down on the leader board.

Hazel Halliday’s and Bernhard Abele’s second day scores of 63 and 65 respectively, although valiant, were not sufficient to ensure the top prize as Maria and Stefan continued to play consistent and remained almost head to head for most of the last 18 holes. In fact Maria ensured that her win was safe when Stefan put his ball out of bounds on the last hole for the tournament.

The full list of prize winners is outlined below (after count back; limit of one prize per player considerations and presentation attendance condition – where applicable).

Overall Winner: Maria Woodward
2nd Best net aggregate score from a lady player: Hazel Halliday
3rd Best net aggregate score from a lady player: Gina Turkington
Overall Best gentleman player: Stefan Borg Manduca
2nd Best net aggregate score from a gentleman player: Bernhard Abele
3rd Best net aggregate score from a gentleman player: Quint Van Beek
4th Best net aggregate score from a gentleman player: Michael Abele
Best net aggregate score from a youth golfer (21 years and under): Mia Allsopp
Best net aggregate score from a senior player (65 years and over): Maureen Borg
Best net score on Day 1 from a lady player: Doreen Balzan
Best net score on Day 2 from a lady player: Joanne Briffa
Best net score on Day 1 from a gentleman player: Andy Borg
Best net score on Day 2 from a gentleman player: Frank O’Lorcain

PS: This year’s tournament featured an addition of a small number of golfers that came especially to experience the RMGC. All hailing from the Belgrade Golf Club in Serbia, the visitors included Dragan Salak (President of the Serbian Golf Association), his lady wife and Goran Stanarevic (the Captain elect). As the MGA Shield is a ‘closed’ competition, the Serbian guests played their own little competition which was won by Aleksandar Stojilkovic.

Picture Caption: Maria Woodward with Naum Janakiev (General Manager Nestlé Malta).