The Malta Royal Golf Club recently designed an interesting competition format for the inaugural Emirates Airline Golf Challenge played at Marsa.
The Golf Challenge gave players an opportunity to choose their own partners and make up teams of two, both playing their own ball throughout. Two 18-hole rounds were played on successive Saturdays. The aggregate score of the four rounds determined the winners.
The perfect condition of the course set the scene for some fine scoring on the first day. Ben Sington posted a blistering net 60, the best individual score of the day. But his partner, Bernard Bugeja, only managed a net 73 and the team placed fifth.
The best team score was posted by Lino Satariano (63) and Natal Azzopardi (67) for a half-way aggregate of 130. In hot pursuit came Mannie Agius and Charlie Darmanin, 131, and Keith Baker/Per Bergedahl, also on 131.
Alex Mangion and Nick Laferla made up the front-runners with 132. With Mangion enjoying a good run and Laferla fresh from winning the Creasy Cup, this tandem were favourite to carry off the Golf Challenge.
Wind conditions were a little trickier on the second day but this did not prevent some good scores being posted. Nick Borg was best of the day with a net 61. Coupled with his brother Andy's 66, they had the best team score for the day but that was not enough to put them on the podium because of their poor showing in the first round.
Meanwhile, Mangion/Laferla's wheels came off when both carded poor scores to drop out of the running. Likewise, Azzopardi and Satariano when the former could not keep pace with his evergreen veteran partner. Paul Stoner and Guy Chamberlain actually came from behind and put themselves in a position to win, only to drop shots on the last hole and relegate themselves to third place.
Consistency paid off for two of the front-running teams. Agius and Darmanin had tied Baker and Bergedahl on 131 in the first round. Both teams again produced identical scores on the second day - 134.
However, Baker and Bergedahl had a better aggregate score on the last nine holes and this determined them as the deserving winners of two flights each to Dubai with Emirates Airline.