MULLET BAY:------ The annual face-off between the Dutch side and French side golf teams during the Concordia Cup was won by Team Saint Martin. Team St. Martin held on to the trophy they won last year after 3 years of previous dominance by the St. Maarten team. This year Team St. Martin ran away with the title after a very convincing 21.5 to 14.5 points win.
The two day annual tournament that is organized around St. Maarten’s Day was played under very good conditions. Due to the rain of the last weeks and the hard work of the greenkeepers of Mullet Bay Golf Course, the condition of the improved significantly and made it a joy to play.
On Saturday morning the best 18 golfers of the Dutch and the French side faced each other for their first test with the Foursomes matches. In this format each team consists of 2 players who play alternate shot. Team St. Martin took the lead with a 5 to 4 point win after this format.
After enjoying a delicious combined team lunch on the course, both teams went out again in the afternoon for their Fourball matches. During this format each team consists of 2 players where each player plays their own ball after which the best score within the team counts. During the Fourball matches it was again a close encounter between both sides but eventually Team St. Martin won this format with 5 to 4 points as well.
After trailing the first day by a total of 10 to 8 points, Team St. Maarten was ready to turnaround the deficit of 2 points and put up a fight on Sunday with 18 single matches left to play. Unfortunately for Team St. Maarten, the French side had different plans and took the single matches by storm, winning this format by 11.5 to 6.5 points and the total tournament with a blistering 21.5 to 14.5 points.
After all the fierce battles on the course had come to a conclusion the Dutch and French side enjoyed drinks and snacks in great camaraderie at the Mullet Bay Golf Course. It is without a doubt that this tournament wouldn’t be possible without the tremendous support, sponsorship and dedication of Mullet Bay Golf Resort, ILTT – Heineken, Bob Hilbert, Prime Distributors, the St. Maarten Golf Association SMGA, Les Tamarins Golf Association, Dauphin Telecom and Howard Hobgood.
Team St. Martin consisted of the following players: Nicolas Leobold, Richard Berchoux, Didier Kerfourn, Yannick Cazemajou, Pierre Garcia, Emmanuel Garcia, Jonathan Haillant, Alain Haillant, Jérome Rivaud, Claude Levy, Laurent Fuentes, Yawo Nyuiadzi, Yvon Springer, Didier Bedu, François Anton, Philippe Thevenet, Anne-Marie Bouille and Odile Meziere.
Team St. Maarten consisted of: Howard Hobgood, Peter Parisi, Lee Hallam, Robert Van der Heuvel, Steve Mix, Tony Burn, Sidsel Jacobsen, Lisbet Jensen, Richard Gibson, Ricardo Perez, Jim Rosen, Marc Van Iersel, Kenny Patterson, Keith Graham, Jesus Rivera, Sam Bashir, Jan Peter Holtland and Stanley Samuel.