Golfing stars of tomorrow took to the golf course at Parque da Floresta recently for the resort’s annual Junior Golf Open. In all, 32 under 18’s, Algarve residents and holidaymakers alike participated in teams of four.
The Stableford competition is held in memorial of its creator, David Hollen, a previous Parque da Floresta Golf Club Captain, who was a loved and respected familiar face at the resort for many years. David was heavily involved with the junior section and was setting up this competition to help encourage and tutor young golfers. He passed away before he could see all his hard work come to fruition, so the Vigia Group, operators of Parque da Floresta, now host the annual competition in his memory each year. David Hollen’s son, Nick, has assumed his father’s mantle and now, along with Ben Frost, coaches juniors at the Vigia Golf Academy every weekend.
Two teams came in with a score of 99, so based on a count back, in first place, were the Parque da Floresta team of Tiago Borges, Dominic Dodwell, Roman Hawczak and Mark Ayre. They collected the trophy from David Hollen’s widow, Kathy, and Parque da Floresta Golf Club Captain, Ralph Griffin. Just pipped to the post, also with 99 points, in second place were the Carvoeiro Golf Club juniors Stuart Hawker, Sean Hawker, Patrick Hawker and Cornelius de Haan. With 98 points, third place went to another Parque da Floresta team consisting of Guy Dodwell, Michael Murphy, Michael Smith and Harry Williams.
Golf Manager, Alan Hodson, commented: “There’s been a great atmosphere. It’s been a pleasure to have had you all here on the course and special thanks to the Vilamoura and Carvoeiro Golf Clubs for a strong showing. I’d also like to thank members of the Parque da Floresta Golf Club, who kindly agreed to marshal. They certainly added to the spirit of the day! We look forward to seeing everyone here again next year and hope the event will be supported as well and continue to inspire more young golfers.”
For information about next year’s competition, scheduled for July 22 2005, or details on junior coaching and lessons, contact 282 690 055.
