GRAHAM FOX THE STAR AS SCOTS FINISH SECOND

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Title holders Scotland, bidding for an eighth win in the tournament, finished a creditable second, two shots behind winners Netherlands, in the PGAs of Europe international team golf championship at Palmares on the Algarve.
Star man for the Scots' trio of Graham Fox (Clydeway Golf), Greg McBain, who joins the Kemnay GC pro staff next month, and David Orr (Mearns Castle) was Fox who finished joint first with Ralph Miller (Netherlands) on two-under-par 286 in the individual standings.
Fox, McBain and Orr divided 4,800 Euros for their four days' work. There were no cash prizes for leading individual totals.
Fox was in the front rank throughout the tournament with rounds of 72, 76, 67 and 71.
McBain finished joint 20th on 299 with scores of 79 74, 72 and 74.
Orr had rounds of 78, 79, 71 and 72 for 300 and a share of 22nd place.
Netherlands team of Miller, Robin Swane and Nicolas Nube earned the top team prize of 6,000 Euros with a total of 579.
The Scots finished on 581. The decisive round in the best two individual scores to count
for the team daily was the third in which the Netherlands had an aggregate of 135, compared with Scotland's 138.
Wales (Jon Bevan, Lee Rooke and Stuart Runcie), Ireland (Brendan McGovern, Cian McNamara and John Kelly) and Denmark tied for third place on 582.
England's Dan Greenwood, David Callaway and Nick Brennan were never in contention and finished 10th on 590. Callaway had a No Return in the last round

PGAs OF EUROPE INTERNATIONAL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Palmares Golf Resort, The Algarve, Portugal

FINAL TEAM TOTALS
Par 576 (4x144)
579 Netherlands (R Miller, R Swane, N Nube) 149 152 135 143
581 Scotland (G Fox, G McBain, D Orr) 150 150 138 143
582 Wales (L Rooke, J Bevan, S Runcie) 156 146 141 139, Ireland (J Kelly, C McNamara, B McGovern) 153 147 139 143, Denmark 149 149 142 142.
Rest of totals:
585 Italy
587 Sweden
588 Spain, France
590 England (D Greenwood, D Callaway, N Drennan)
598 Portugal
602 Slovenia
603 Germany
607 South Africa
610 Austria
612 Switzerland
614 Belgium
616 Finland
617 Greece
619 Poland
625 Czech Republic
630 Iceland
631 Croatia, Norway
643 Slovakia
660 Russian Federation 

LEADING INDIVIDUAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
286 G Fox (Sco) 72 76 67 71, R Miller (Ned) 73 80 64 69
287 M Atlevi (Swe) 74 71 73 69
288 B Nicolay (Fra) 75 73 67 73
289 J Lorea (Spa) 74 75 70 70
291 H Santos (Port) 77 72 72 70
292 J Bevan (Wal) 79 74 69 70, B McGovern (Ire) 76 74 70 72, M Hansen (Den) 80 72 67 73

SELECTED OTHER SCORES
294 N Drennan (Eng) 78 75 69 72 (11th)
295 C McNamara (Ire) 77 73 74 71 (T12)
296 D Greenwood (Eng) 80 74 69 73 (15th)
297 J Kelly (Ire) 81 74 69 73, L Rooke (Wal) 77 72 73 75 (T16).
299 G McBain (Sco) 79 74 72 74 (T20)
300 D Orr (Sco) 78 79 71 72 (T22)
303 S Runcie (Wal) 79 83 72 69 (25th)
NR D Callaway (Eng) 85 77 72 NR


REPORT FROM THE PGAs OF EUROPE WEBSITE

International Team Championship goes Dutch and ends drought

Holland held their nerve on Portugal’s Algarve to win The PGAs of Europe International Team Championship and end a 22-year famine.

In doing so, and having finished joint second last year, the Dutch trio of Ralph Miller, Robin Swane and Nicolas Nube turned the tables on Scotland at the Onyria Palmares Beach and Golf Resort.

Twelve months ago Holland had trailed the Scots by nine strokes - this time they finished two ahead of them to claim the ∈6,000 first prize.

But, as that victory margin suggests, it was a close run thing. And not just the battle between them.

With three strokes spanning the top five teams, the result remained in doubt until Swane negotiated the par four final hole of the Alvor course in regulation to clinch victory and ensure his nation’s name was inscribed on the trophy for the first time since 1991.

For Swane, the Dutch captain, and his team-mates this triumph was a first, however. Furthermore it reflected the growing standard of golf among his compatriots.

“The three members of the team are all Dutch-born players,” he said. “That wasn’t the case before when we were represented by overseas players."

But it was the player with the English sounding name who proved Holland’s ace in the pack.

Having broken the course record in the third round by posting an eight-under-par 64, Miller, who has an American father and Dutch mother, followed up with a three-under-par 69.

That coupled with Swane’s two-over was sufficient for the Dutch to maintain the two-stroke lead they held at the start of the final round of the tournament which was supported by Glenmuir, the Associaçäo Turismo do Algarve and Ryder Cup European Development Trust.

Miller’s round also ensured he finished level with Scotland’s Graham Fox as the tournament’s leading individual on two-under-par for the four rounds.

Completing the trio of players from the 26 teams who were under par for the tournament was Sweden’s Magnus Atlevi who signed off with a 69 to finish on one-under.

For others, however, the event was very much a case of what might have been, especially the Irish.

Needing to par the last to force a play-off, Brendan McGovern posted a triple bogey seven. Even more punitive was the 10 John Kelly racked up at the fifth en route to a one-over-par 73. For once the luck of the Irish was conspicuous by its absence.

Leading totals in relation to par (after fourth and final round):
1st Holland +3
2nd Scotland +5
Tied 3rd Denmark, Wales and Ireland +6
6th Italy +9
7th Sweden +11