MULLET BAY:--- Wilson Charles, from Antigua, turned out to be the best player in the two-day tournament played this past weekend with a winning cumulative score of 157 low gross.
The consistency with which Wilson played and the excellent second day performance under rainy and windy weather conditions lead him to come out on top as the number one of 61 participating players to win the 27th edition of the St. Maarten Open Golf Tournament.
The prize for Tournament Overall Low Net was won by Alexandre Bourdon of St. Martin with a total Low Net score of 127.
The Championship flight with 10 players, all with a handicap between 0-10, consisted of several players who were determined to chase the first-day leaders on the second day of the tournament. Still, Antigua national Wilson Charles beat Charles Blake from St. Kitts by 2 strokes.
During the two-day 36 holes tournament at the Mullet Bay Golf Course, a total amount of 61 players from both St. Maarten and St. Martin, joined by a large group of golfers from Anguilla, France, St. Kitts, St. Barth’s, Guadeloupe as well as from the USA, the Netherlands and England, got started with an opening reception for players and sponsors on Friday evening at the Sunset Beach Bar at Maho Beach.
The tournament got underway on Saturday morning for the first round and after the second round on Sunday, an awards plus recognition party was held at La Tortuga.
In the Champions category, the prize of 1st Low net was won by Christopher Gibbons from the USA with a score of 152, and 2nd Low net was won by Rodney Tackling from Anguilla.
In the category Men’s 1st flight for players, with a handicap between 9 and 15, Kit Lee from St. Maarten came out on top with a score of 158 Low Gross, Andy Holmes took first Low Net with a score of 141. In the Men’s 2nd Flight for players, with a handicap between 16 and 36, the first Low Gross was won by Alexandre Bourbon from St. Martin with a score of 171, first Low Net went to Steven Carty with a score of 140.
In a strong field of female players, the prize for Low Gross in the Ladies category went to Anne-Marie Bouille from St. Martin with a score of 182. Low Net was won by Nathalie Senechal from Anguilla with a score of 154.
Yannick Cazemajou from St. Martin shot 172 to win the Low Gross in the category Senior’s 1st Flight for players over 50 years old, while Ludovic Brun took 1st Low Net in this category with a score of 145. In the Senior’s 2nd Flight for players, with a handicap between 22 and 36, first Low Gross was won by Sam Bashir from St. Maarten with a score of 174, first Low Net went to Hervé Thibaudeau from St. Martin with a score of 154.
This year again a large number of players participated in the category Super Seniors for golfers over 60 years old. Therefor this category was split up for players with a handicap up to 21, and a category with handicaps from 22 to 36. In the ‘Super Senior’s 1st Flight’, Marc Grenouilleau from France won Low Gross with a score of 163 and Low Net was won by Tony Lake from St. Maarten with a score of 139. The category ‘Super Seniors 2nd Flight’ was won by Lal Baharani St. Maarten with a score of 188 Low Gross, John Richardson won Low Net in this category with a score of 135.
The St. Maarten Golf Association SMGA, after an absence of 3 years, was able to organize this top ranked tournament due to the great partnership with Mullet Bay Resort & Golf Course, combined with the relentless efforts from its, Board, its members, volunteers and the tremendous support it received from both the local and international business community. Proceeds from the event will benefit pre-selected community organizations supporting sports for the youth of St. Maarten.
The SMGA is a non-profit organization of avid golfers that promotes the practice of the game of golf and fosters community sense. The SMGA organizes golf matches and tournaments for its members and non-members and donates proceeds that are made through membership fees and during these events like the St. Maarten Open to multiple community organizations on the island.
