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MALTA PLACES 65TH IN THE EISENHOWER TROPHY

15/10/2012

Andrew Borg, Ruud Critien and Peter Satariano have returned back to Malta somewhat disappointed with their result in the World Amateur Team Championships – Eisenhower Trophy – yet happy to have had the opportunity to represent club and country in these championships for the first time.

The format of the tournament was stroke play medal with the best 2 scores from each team aggregated towards the team’s score. A record number of 72 countries entered the championships. The competition was due to be played over 4 days between the 4th and 7th October translating into 4 rounds of 18 holes each. Due to the inclement weather this was eventually curtailed to 54 holes. Five practice rounds were also possible but Malta could only utilize two due to flight itineraries as well as bad weather.

Malta placed 65th with an aggregate score of +68 – a whopping 92 strokes behind first placed USA but 154 strokes better than last placed Kyrgyzstan. Malta also placed ahead of Guam, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Oman, Ukraine and Croatia but behind other neighbouring countries like Egypt, Greece, and Serbia. The host country – Turkey – finished 36th whilst Mexico came 2nd and Republic of Korea, Germany and France tied for 3rd place. England finished 8th, Spain 9th and Italy 14th. Cyprus did not participate.

Individually, Andrew with a +31 placed 171st out of 215 players, whilst Ruud and Peter Satariano played +39 and +64 placing them 191st and 201st respectively. The best player in the tournament was that from Mexico with a -15 whilst the worst was that from Kyrgyzstan with a +163.

Andy’s +31 were aggregated from a +10, +11 and another +10 over the three days. 9 strokes from these 31 were alone due to the par-4 hole-18. Ruud’s +8 on the second day was the best score from Malta. In fact Ruud was only +3 with only 6 holes to play before play was suspended. When this was re-started the next day, Ruud bogeyed five out of the remaining 6 holes. A number of double and triple bogeys as well as a 4-over and 6-over par contributed to his other two day scores of +19 and +12. Peter, with a par, par and birdie, had the best three-hole start on the first day but then quickly succumbed to the course. He had two four over par holes on the first day for a +17 score; with similar fate on the second and third days for +23 and +24 scores.

The agony compounds itself when one realises that the players has it in them to play well. Peter’s start; Ruud’s +1 over nine holes on two different days and Andy’s +2 and twice +3 over nine holes over three different days are all signs that the players can play well. But the expectation that the players cannot hold a score together over a full 18 holes let alone over three or four days of such a competition leaves one only to dream of what can be achieved.

Such expectation is not frivolous but stems from a number of reasons:
• inability to practice properly on the home course ahead of the competition as our golf course was being renovated in the three months ahead of the tournament;
• inexistence of a national championship course;
• absence of continuous coaching and mentoring;
• lack of tournament experience abroad.

In their remarks the athletes state that they would have wished for more practice time and to be accompanied by their coach and/or delegate. Naturally, we endorse such a request but the lack of finances makes it impossible for us to meet such demands. For 2012, our approved grant was for a mere €2500 which amount was not even sufficient to cover the flights to and accommodation at Antalya for the three players – let alone expose them to more coaching sessions and experience abroad. A coach traveling with the players would require an additional €3000 - €4000 whilst it would be unfair to expect a delegate to dish out an additional €2000 from his/her own pocket money to travel with the players.

It is also a fact that flight delays meant that the players took over 16 hours to reach their hotel room on Monday morning – a mere 90 minutes ahead of their first practice round. Despite their obvious tiredness they met this schedule. The inclement weather on Tuesday meant that their second practice round was curtailed. With the Championships being played on two different courses over the four days this meant little practice experience for our boys who admit that it was the same for the other countries although most of the other teams had already been using the practice facilities since the Saturday.

Background:
We consider the WATC’s as the “Olympics” of amateur golf. Organised every other year by the International Golf Federation, the championships alternate between the four continents. 2012 represented the first real opportunity for Malta to participate since the founding of the Malta Golf Association as the championships came to Europe (Antalya-Turkey) after having been to Australia, South Africa and Argentina in previous years.

The start of these championships goes back to the early 1950’s at a time when the USA was receiving numerous invitations for international matches against individual countries. The discussions led to 35 countries meeting in Washington in 1958 establishing the World Amateur Golf Council (now known as the International Golf Federation). The group was welcomed in the White House by President Eisenhower and the first Championship was hosted by the R&A on the Old Course in St. Andrews. The trophy honours Eisenhower affection to the spirit of the game of golf and is inscribed “to foster friendship and sportsmanship among the peoples of the world”.

The women’s counterpart was created in 1964 with the Espirto Santo Trophy donated to the IGF by a Portuguese family bearing the same name. The gold plated cup was originally owned by Nicolas II, the Tsar of Russia, and was purchased in an auction after the Russian Revolution of 1917.

The legendary Bob Jones captained the very first American men team that traveled to Scotland in 1958 and since then the top amateurs of the game represented their countries in these championships (including Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Colin Montgomorie, Sergio Garcia amongst others) before turning professional. Nicklaus’s 72-hole record of 269 played in 1960 still stands today.

Andy, Ruud and Peter received the privilege to represent Malta in the Eisenhower Trophy through an order of merit point system that was established for the golfing season 2011-2012. The system awarded points according to the performance of the national team players in national competitions. No ladies were selected as we have no females with the required minimum qualifying standards.