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PORTUGAL PRO AM 2006

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PORTUGAL

PRO AM 2006

by Bill Abbott

The EGTF East Algarve Pro Am took place at the wonderful Quinta Da Ria and Quinta Da Cima Golf Courses in Tavira, Portugal. The field was slightly smaller this year with ten teams, but many of the top EGTF playing Pro's were there with hand picked teams to play for the £3000 prize fund on offer.

The week started with a welcome cocktail party at our headquarters for the week, the Vila Gale Hotel in Tavira, hosted by Performance Golf UK, who were running the event for us. It was great to catch up with old friends from the EGTF and meet their teams, many who attended last year.

The first round got going under grey skies but warm temperatures and scoring was good, but only players who had a sure putting touch on the treacherous greens were really confident of posting a score. Dave Ames, EGTF Staff Professional, took Day 1 honours in the Pro Tournament with an assured 1 under par score of 71, with Dean Davis and Stewart Craig following closely behind. The Amateur Tournament always starts a little slowly as the players come to terms with playing off 3/4 handicap and lightening fast greens!

Many in the Team Tournament were taking things very seriously, by going to bed early and some ordered to bed early by their Pro's! Mind you, the old school band of players kept the bar open until the early hours, maintaining their proud tradition (you know who you are!!)

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'a small tornado blew through the Algarve on Friday'

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What can only be described as a small tornado blew through the Algarve on Friday which made the already tough Quinta Da Cima course almost unplayable for most in the field, with winds gusting at around 40 miles an hour. Dave Ames continued his fantastic form with what can only be described as one of the great rounds in the history of EGTF Pro Ams, a level par 72, to extend his lead to 8 shots over the rest of the field.

The bar area on Friday evening witnessed a lot of activity as bruised and battered ego's after the round were replaced by large quantities of alcohol and some rousing karaoke from Alan Simpson and his team to keep us entertained.

The final day arrived and a very wet, but playable Quinta Da Ria awaited. All the trophies were still up for grabs and scoring turned out to be excellent, with special mention for young Jason Shufflebotham, the +2 Welsh Amateur from Prestatyn, who shot the low round of the week, a 5 under par 67. Unfortunately it wasn't quite good enough to capture the Amateur title, which was won by Joe Kyle who stole through on the last day with 37 points, to take the trophy.

The team prize went down to the wire, with Stewart Craig's team taking the spoils by 1 point, which is a fantastic way to finish after three hard days. Finally the Pro competition was emphatically claimed by wire to wire leader, Dave Ames, taking all the pressure in his stride by shooting a last round 2 under par.

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'The trophies were presented and much wine was supped'

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The presentation evening was a chance for all to relax and reminisce over the past few days of fun, friendship and golf. The trophies were presented and much wine was supped with the curtain brought down on another fine week in the East Algarve.

I would like to thank Marcus and Simon Buckley Bennion, Susie, David and Alice, all of Performance Golf UK, who ran the Tournament supremely well as always. My thanks also go to the staff at Vila Gale Hotel who were extremely friendly and to the people who helped us at Quinta Da Ria and Cima Golf Courses. Finally, my thanks go to everyone who attended and made it such a fantastic event for myself and the EGTF. Hopefully next year we can pursuade more people to come and have a good time in this idyllic part of the world.