Kelshaw Crowned Club Champion at Al Badia Golf Club
Al Badia Golf Club held the fifth annual Club Championship last weekend where a strong field of contenders competed for the prestigious title of ‘Club Champion’ in the two day event.
Course Superintendant Paddy Ryan and his team were commended for presenting the course in immaculate condition for the event which also included assistance from Al Badia colleagues in all departments joined by members for an early morning divot repair session leading up to the big weekend.
The Club Championship is played in a stroke play format over two days with the lowest combined gross score being declared the champion. The course was set up to give all the players a true test of their abilities as the men were playing from the black tees measuring just over 7,300 yards while the ladies played off the white tees at 6,200 yards.
The Ladies Club Championship set off with defending champion, Lynn Cimino firing an opening round of 94 to take the first day lead by 4 shots over Jacqueline O’Connor. Cimino unfortunately could not finish her round on the final day which left the title in contention for newcomer Michelle Hilbert. Hilbert’s first round of 99 left her 5 shots behind heading into day two however her phenomenal final round of 87 for a two day total of 186 gave her an eleven shot lead over runner-up Hee Sun Kim to be crowned this year’s Ladies Club Champion.
Defending club champion, Steve Kelshaw opened with a solid 79 to become co-leader after the first round with his playing partner Bryan Scatterty. Just three and four shots off the pace respectively were John Allen and Colin Cordery. The front nine of round two however put Kelshaw and Scatterty on shaky ground creating an opening for Allen to move ahead. Resilient Kelshaw answered back with an extraordinary two over on the back nine to magnificently defend his title to become 2013 Club Champion. Kelshaw’s two round total of 164 gave him a five shot lead over runner-up John Allen followed by Colin Cordery with his two day total of 170.
The Championship presentation was held at the beautiful Al Manzar terrace where the prestigious trophies were awarded as the celebrations carried on into the evening.
