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FALDO SERIES 2013 - SO NEAR AND YET SO FAR
11/09/2013
The last of the 19 Nick Faldo Series tournaments to be played in Europe this year was held at the Glyfada Golf Club in Athens last week. RMGC junior players, John Micallef Stafrace, Matthew Cassar Torreggiani and Quint van Beek participated in this tournament and were so near, yet so far, to achieve what would have been an excellent win for themselves and for Maltese golf.
The tournament was played over two days on a par 72 course that measured just over 6300 yards off tees that were placed somewhere behind the average yellow markers but in front of the average white championship markers. The course did not present itself well for the tournament showing signs of extreme distress and large bare areas on the majority of the fairways. So much so that the committee declared “pick and place” rules for lies between the tree-lines that defined the fairways. The bunkers were also very difficult to play from due to their compactness. Despite a total absence of water hazards, the Glyfada course presents its own difficulties due to high number of trees bounding the fairways. Long hitters that are capable of shaping their shots can put a very good score together but a slight miscalculation of the hit will put the ball inside the trees most of the time requiring a chip back towards the fairway.
57 young players entered the tournament converging to Athens from Israel, Turkey, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Russia, England and Spain. The largest contingent was that from the home country, followed by Cyprus and Israel. The participants were distributed according to age and gender and our boys fell into the second (under 18) category which consisted of eleven players.
Matthew had an excellent start to the tournament with an easy birdie on the first followed by two straight pars. Unfortunately a double bogey and three successive bogeys cancelled this positive start, for Matthew to finish 5 over on the first nine holes. Another credible 4 over for the back nine meant a gross of 81 for the young man – playing better on foreign soil than his home handicap. Over the 36 holes played, Matthew had 2 birdies (both on par 4’s); 13 pars; 17 bogeys; 7 double bogeys and a triple bogey for an aggregate 172 (+28) score. He finished tied 7th in his group and tied 21st overall.
John avoided major problems on his first holes on the tournament and was only 3 over after 8 holes. A double on the 9th-hole par 4 hole meant an “out” score of 41. He then proceeded to play level par for the back nine to keep his total score for the first day to a gross 77 (4 shots behind and second place at the end of the first day of the tournament). On the second day and playing with the eventual winner of his group, John played the first twelve holes one better than the previous day before his nerves got the better on him on the par 4 -13th. He actually quadruple bogeyed this hole destroying his chances to keep up with the leader. John’s two rounds consisted of 3 birdies (all on par 5’s); 19 pars; 12 bogeys; 1 double bogey and of course the quadruple bogey to finish joint 4th in his group and tied 10th overall. Both ties were with Jan Hajek from the Czech Republic (seen in the photograph) – a very likeable youngster with whom it was so easy to make friends.
Quint did not make many birdies but neither did he make many mistakes. His front nine scores on both days of the tournament were next to perfect. +2 on the first day and +1 for the second day. Then on both days he carded in similar scores for the back nine holes of +5 for a gross 79 and 78 to an aggregate of 157 (+13). The young man had 2 birdies (one each on a par 3 and a par 5); 23 wholesome pars; 7 bogeys and 4 double bogeys. Quint’s +7 at the end of the first day placed him in 5th position but his second day score of +6 moved him to leap frog John to 3rd place in his group and 9th overall. Quint was just 5 shots shy from a play off with the winner and a chance to make it to the Grand Final in America. So near and yet so far!
The overall winner of the Series was Vasilis Koubakis an under 16 year old Greek boy who incredibly shot a one under par for the tournament – four shots better than Nikolaos Efthimiadis another Greek play albeit in the under 21 division.
Naturally, there are also some funny stories that transpire when one is around mature yet still teenage boys but we have promised each other that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas so I will have to refrain, for example, from giving you the details of how I refused to believe to the boys’ pleas to get off the tram because our stop had arrived only to realise too late that they were right and thus making our journey back home some 5 km longer.
Like our mishap on the tram they were so near, yet so far.
William Beck
11th September 2013