Pascal emerges the winner of the Jumeirah Golf Estates 2013 Club Championships
It was a tense finish this year for the members participating at Jumeirah Golf Estates as they witnessed a great climax to decide the Club Championships of 2013.
36 holes contested over the Fire and Earth managed to create a stern test of golf for all participants over both categories for the men and woman and by the final days play, worthy champions were crowned.
Following round one over the Fire course it was Guy Walker leading by a single shot after he covered the final nine holes in a very respectable gross 2 under par 34 for a first round total of 75. Defending champion, Bilbo Perrot and Paul Marks gross 76’s were not far away whilst closely followed and eager to improve their scores on the final day were a cluster of potential winners on 77.
Michelle Walsh was very pleased with her first round effort as feeling slightly under the weather before play began; beware of the injured golfer certainly applied, as Michelle returned a creditable gross 79 to lead the ladies championship by ten shots from Noorat Thongdee. In the ladies net division defending champion, Zuzana Pourova began her defense by recording a very consistent net 68 to take a three shot lead into the final days play from Michelle Walsh on net 71 whilst in the shadows and ready to gain shots in the final round was March and Aprils ladies medal winner Sun Le Rim a further 4 shots back in third position.
In the mens net category, a tie at the top of the leader meant for an exciting finish with Hisham Shammas and Aamer Zaidi leading the pack on 6 under par, net 66’s. Paul Marks net 67 with Alan Burke and Lars Nielsen (net 68’s) were biting at the leader’s heels to snatch the trophy going into the final 18 holes.
The final days play was contested over an Earth course that created opportunities for members to be aggressive and gain many shots on the field. Graham Pascal certainly did just that managing to gain two shots on the first round leader, Guy Walker and finished in the clubhouse on 36 hole total 8 over par, 152. Nick Lloyd followed suit and recorded his second successive 76, 4 over par to tie Graham on that leading total to take the tournament into extra holes. In the end it was Graham Pascal who prevailed holing a long breaking putt for par on the 18th green to ease ahead of Nick and claim the 2013 JGE Mens Club Champion title with Nick claiming sole second place. In third position a card playoff was required to award Alessandro Zanetti after tying with 2012 Mens Club Champion, Bilbo Perrot, on a total of 157 to complete the final podium position on this year’s championship.
The Ladies Championship crown was awarded to Michelle Walsh as taking confidence from her previous days play and feeling eager to claim the title, Michelle maintained her composure after a nervy outward nine holes to record a final round of 85, producing a total overall gross score of 164. Michelle’s nearest competitor, Noorat Thongdee finishing a creditable second on 179. Zuzana was never threatened in the net category extending her lead over the final 18 holes to convincingly retain her JGE Ladies Net Champion title with a overall net total of 127.
The mens net category was a close affair with Lars Nielsen and Aamer Zaidi in the clubhouse tied on a 36 hole net total 137, 7 under par. Tensions were turning high and with a card playoff looming it was the last dashed effort of Hisham Shammas, who although slightly disappointed with his round and feeling he had left several shots on the course, returned a 2 under par net 70 to record a 36 hole total, 136 and win the 2013 JGE Mens Net Champion by the smallest of margins. Lars Nielsen took sole second place with Aamer accepting third based on their inward nine scores to complete a very tight contest indeed.
Day Prizes
Day One Day Two
Best Net Score – Alan Burke (68) Best Net Score – Ayaz Afridi (72)
Best Gross Score – Guy Walker (75) Best Gross Score – Omer I Khan (77)
Congratulations to all the winners of each category and especially to our newly crowned 2013 Men’s and Ladies Club Champions.
