Elday and Davidson sneak into International Pairs final at Abu Dhabi City Golf Club
One of the closest finishes in International Pairs history had tournament organisers diving for the R&A Rules of Golf handbook at Abu Dhabi City Golf Club at the weekend. Two pairs – Sid Elday and Keith Davidson and Peter Skinner and Andre Holder – returned 43 points in the Daman Investments-sponsored qualifying tournament on November 15, forcing a not uncommon scorecard count-back.
But when the traditional count-back method – the back nine holes – failed to separate the pairs, organisers were forced to dig deeper and deeper to find a winner. But still Elday/Davidson and Skinner/Holder couldn’t be parted, their scores identical for the last nine, six and three holes as well as on the 18th hole alone.
The tournament committee reverted to the R&A Rules book which recommended continuing the count-back to the front nine holes. In the end Elday/Davidson had 31 stableford points on the back 12 holes to Skinner/Holder’s 29 points. It saw Elday and Davidson announced the winners – a decision ratified by a phone call to the R&A in St Andrews, Scotland – and seal Abu Dhabi City GC’s spot in next year’s Daman Investments International Pairs UAE Grand Final at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club.
Elday and Davidson will be joined at the May 29 final – where the overall champions earn an all-expenses paid trip to the International Pairs World Final slated for Scotland in October 2015 – by Harry Soek and Richard Chia who won the Saadiyat Beach Golf Club qualifier the previous day with 43 points.
A point back in second place were Blanca and Alain Rivollier while third on 41 points were defending UAE International Pairs champions Neil and Yvette Heywood. The husband and wife team finished a creditable sixth representing the UAE at the 2014 International Pairs World Final at Mar Hall in Scotland last October.
Soek and Chia have shown a real liking for tournaments organised by Middle East golf management specialists OnCourse Golf. In September they won the Saadiyat Beach qualifier for the World Corporate Golf Challenge meaning they also have a shot at an all-expenses paid trip to Cascias in Portugal at the WCGC-UAE Final on May 21, 2015.
The next Daman Investments International Pairs qualifier – a combined Ras Al Khaimah event for members of Al Hamra and Tower Links Golf Clubs – will be played at Al Hamra on Saturday, November 29. Members should contact their clubs directly for entry details.
