Houston, Theuwis grab honours at RMGC event

The Royal Malta Golf Club International Junior Tournament took place in the final week of October, as scheduled, despite the record rainfall just a few days earlier which resulted in parts of the course being heavily flooded.

This feat must be attributed to the progressive upgrading of the course in recent years and to the sterling work carried out by Greens superintendent Bruce Corkern and his team.

In all, around 60 boys and girls under 16 years of age and hailing from Malta, England, Belgium and Germany, participated. The competition was a most memorable occasion for girls golf in Malta as the Royal Malta Golf Club (RMGC) fielded its first ever girls’ team in a tournament.

The welcome evening at the Valletta Waterfront provided the ideal opportunity for the juniors and accompanying relatives, coaches and officials to get acquainted before the tournament kicked off.

This was followed on Friday by a practice round and the Titleist Longest Drive Competition for the boys and girls which was won by Nicholas Schild, from Muswell Hill Golf Club (254 yards), and Belgian girl Marie-Isabel Theuwis, from Millennium Golf Club (166 yards) respectively.

Day One saw Sussex County boys Terry Green and Oliver Graves established an early lead with a score of 70, with Hamish Houston just one shot behind. Best score for the Maltese was obtained by captain Danny Holland who finished with a 76.

For the girls, Marie-Isabel Theuwis came in with a 76 followed by her sister Anna with a 94. Hannah Debono shot the best score on the day from the Maltese girls.

On the second day, Houston profited from the leaders’ shortcomings by shooting another 71 and claiming top spot, one shot ahead of James Holden who also carded 71 and took the runner-up spot. The overall best net score went to RMGC player John Micallef Stafrace.

In the girls’ field, Marie-Isabel Theuwis shot a 79 to secure the title while her sister Anna landed the runner-up prize.

The best score by a Maltese girl was shot by Amber Abele while Mia Allsopp recorded the best score over the two days.

Ralph Debono won the Stableford competition, whilst Hannah Cuthbert topped the putting competition.

The prizes were presented at the Presentation Dinner. In a statement, the organisers of the RMGC International Tournament thanked the sponsors, Malta International Airport, Business Meetings Malta, and IIG Bank, as well as supporting partner SPA Agencies Ltd, for making this edition a memorable one.