Scotland joint second as rain cuts

short PGAs of Europe event

FROM THE PGAs OF EUROPE WEBSITE
England were crowned PGAs of Europe international team champions for a third time as Mother Nature had the last word at Vale do Lobo on Portugal's Algarve coastline.
The rain that had caused a rescheduling in the second round returned with a vengeance on the fourth day of the event sponsored by Associacao Turismo do Algarve and also being supported by Glenmuir, The Tivoli Victoria, Vale de Lobo Golf Club and the Ryder Cup European Development Trust’
But for Tournament Director, Ben Groutage, turning two par-5s into par-3s because of flooded fairways on that second day, the annual event may not have even reached its satisfactory 54-hole destination.
Accompanied by thunder and lightning, which felled a tree alongside the par three 17th hole, the deluge swamped the course and caused the fourth round to be abandoned.
Consequently England were declared the winners as a result of leading the 26-strong field by four strokes at the end of the third round. It was particularly galling for France’s Rogez Sabarros who recorded the tournament’s second-hole-in-one – on the shortened sixth.
“He was playing very well,” said skipper Benjamin Nicolay. “In fact we all were, so we’re very frustrated by what’s happened.”
In contrast England’s team captain, Jon Bevan, was delighted with the victory but admitted he would have preferred to have secured as a result of playing 72-holes.
“A win’s a win,” he said. “So obviously we’re very pleased. But it would have been better and more satisfying if we’d won it with the tournament going the distance. I know the French are disappointed… and so would we be in their position.
“The good thing is that we led from the start of the tournament and were still in front when it was abandoned.” As Bevan’s best round of the tournament – a four-under-par in the third – ensured England went into the final day in pole position, he was entitled to some personal satisfaction.
He was quick, however, to praise the part played by his team-mates, David Shacklady, who was under par in each of his three rounds, and John Wells. “It was a real team effort and John and David both made huge contributions,” added Bevan. “They laid the foundations in the first two rounds and David was very consistent throughout.”
The trio earned €6,000 for their victory while Scotland and France picked up €4,500 each for finishing joint-second.
But that was cold comfort to both teams who had begun to shave England’s lead when the tournament was called off. Scotland had trimmed it to two strokes after the first six holes of the ill-fated fourth round while France had reduced it to three.
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