With a 72-hole aggregate score of +13, J.J. Micallef finished second at the 15th Turkish Amateur Open Championship, played recently at the National Golf Club.

The course, situated in Belek, Antalya, is a par-73, measuring 6,086 metres.

Micallef and Andy Borg were among the 11 players who entered the event with all the others being Turkish citizens, the Malta Golf Association said in a statement.

Both Micallef and Borg are national team players and the Turkish Open represented their final overseas tournament before they head to Mexico in the coming days to represent Malta in the Eisenhower Trophy of the World Team Amateur Championships, organised by the International Golf Federation.

The Malta players’ performance at the Turkish Amateur Open was a bit of a seesaw throughout the four days of play. They had 18 birdies, par 86, bogey 34 and double bogey six holes.

Indeed, they closed the opening day in 23rd and 17th places respectively but made a strong comeback with Micallef claiming the runner-up spot while Borg finished sixth.

The difficulty of the golf course manifested itself in the overall scoring of the field as Turkey’s Ali Altuntas was declared winner with an aggregate score of +2 while the last-placed golfer recorded a score of +106.