Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club 5th annual NMT Battle of the Continents Grand Final
By Clarkwin
|March 1, 2017
Mark Dupree captained Team Europe to a successful title defence in the 5th NMT Battle of the Continents Grand Final.
As the morning’s play developed all four Continents had at least the share of the lead at some point. America’s & Australasia were keen to build on their runner-up finish in 2015-but only Gurbax Singh and Ramesh Wijeratne were able to obtain the full four points. With only five points coming from their ‘Gross’ contingent of players, it was a noble wooden spoon effort for America’s & Australasia.
The African and Middle East bid for this year’s title started well as captain Dirk Bruwer and aco Van Heerden led the way, putting early points on the board. In the closing scores their Gross lineup of Namir Al Naimi and Roy Holmes finished well, capturing seven out of a possible eight points in the final two matches and saw the team finish just 1.5 points out of second place.
Following last year’s disappointing third place, Asian captain SS Son did all he could to rally his team by taking the maximum four points from his opening captains. For the majority of the afternoon’s play the points total swung both ways between Asia and Europe.
The Asian team was fortunate to have the experience of past captain and proud NMT sponsor Vivian Verma, he was able to secure all four points from his match as he scored 39 stableford points during his round.
In contrast the European Team had youth on their side in the form of JDP developing stars Max Hibbert and Omar Karim who were able to obtain seven out of the eight points.
As the matches drew to their conclusion it became apparent the result was going to come down to the Gross competitors. With Sunny Ramadas for Asia leading by a single stableford point over Craig Vance from Europe on the 18th Tee, the hole was to be pivotal in the end result.
Ramadas unfortunately made an uncharacteristic double bogey on the hole. Seizing the opening, Vance birdied the 18th, increasing his score to 29 stablefords and enabling him to narrowly beat America’s & Australasia representative Jon Huntley by a point and claim all four match points for his team.
In the penultimate match George Liu from Asia and Chris Cornwall from Europe shared the points for second and third place in a closely fought battle. In the final match Dave Lawlor finished comfortably in first place for his fourball, taking the maximum four match points.
In a cruel twist of fate, Lawlor’s card was enhanced by a hole in one on the 12th hole on the second loop. He’d have driven away in a new BMW had it been first time round. It was, nevertheless, a key moment as Lawlor beat Asian rival Sinar Suraj by two match points to confirm Europe’s successful title defence.
Final standings:
1. Europe - 26.5 points
2. Asia - 23 points
3. Africa and Middle East - 21.5 points
4. Americas and Australasia – 19 points
Qualifiers for the 6th Battle of the Continents event commence in October.">
Mark Dupree captained Team Europe to a successful title defence in the 5th NMT Battle of the Continents Grand Final.
As the morning’s play developed all four Continents had at least the share of the lead at some point. America’s & Australasia were keen to build on their runner-up finish in 2015-but only Gurbax Singh and Ramesh Wijeratne were able to obtain the full four points. With only five points coming from their ‘Gross’ contingent of players, it was a noble wooden spoon effort for America’s & Australasia.
The African and Middle East bid for this year’s title started well as captain Dirk Bruwer and aco Van Heerden led the way, putting early points on the board. In the closing scores their Gross lineup of Namir Al Naimi and Roy Holmes finished well, capturing seven out of a possible eight points in the final two matches and saw the team finish just 1.5 points out of second place.
Following last year’s disappointing third place, Asian captain SS Son did all he could to rally his team by taking the maximum four points from his opening captains. For the majority of the afternoon’s play the points total swung both ways between Asia and Europe.
The Asian team was fortunate to have the experience of past captain and proud NMT sponsor Vivian Verma, he was able to secure all four points from his match as he scored 39 stableford points during his round.
In contrast the European Team had youth on their side in the form of JDP developing stars Max Hibbert and Omar Karim who were able to obtain seven out of the eight points.
As the matches drew to their conclusion it became apparent the result was going to come down to the Gross competitors. With Sunny Ramadas for Asia leading by a single stableford point over Craig Vance from Europe on the 18th Tee, the hole was to be pivotal in the end result.
Ramadas unfortunately made an uncharacteristic double bogey on the hole. Seizing the opening, Vance birdied the 18th, increasing his score to 29 stablefords and enabling him to narrowly beat America’s & Australasia representative Jon Huntley by a point and claim all four match points for his team.
In the penultimate match George Liu from Asia and Chris Cornwall from Europe shared the points for second and third place in a closely fought battle. In the final match Dave Lawlor finished comfortably in first place for his fourball, taking the maximum four match points.
In a cruel twist of fate, Lawlor’s card was enhanced by a hole in one on the 12th hole on the second loop. He’d have driven away in a new BMW had it been first time round. It was, nevertheless, a key moment as Lawlor beat Asian rival Sinar Suraj by two match points to confirm Europe’s successful title defence.
Final standings:
1. Europe - 26.5 points
2. Asia - 23 points
3. Africa and Middle East - 21.5 points
4. Americas and Australasia – 19 points
Qualifiers for the 6th Battle of the Continents event commence in October.">
Mark Dupree captained Team Europe to a successful title defence in the 5th NMT Battle of the Continents Grand Final.
As the morning’s play developed all four Continents had at least the share of the lead at some point. America’s & Australasia were keen to build on their runner-up finish in 2015-but only Gurbax Singh and Ramesh Wijeratne were able to obtain the full four points. With only five points coming from their ‘Gross’ contingent of players, it was a noble wooden spoon effort for America’s & Australasia.
The African and Middle East bid for this year’s title started well as captain Dirk Bruwer and aco Van Heerden led the way, putting early points on the board. In the closing scores their Gross lineup of Namir Al Naimi and Roy Holmes finished well, capturing seven out of a possible eight points in the final two matches and saw the team finish just 1.5 points out of second place.
Following last year’s disappointing third place, Asian captain SS Son did all he could to rally his team by taking the maximum four points from his opening captains. For the majority of the afternoon’s play the points total swung both ways between Asia and Europe.
The Asian team was fortunate to have the experience of past captain and proud NMT sponsor Vivian Verma, he was able to secure all four points from his match as he scored 39 stableford points during his round.
In contrast the European Team had youth on their side in the form of JDP developing stars Max Hibbert and Omar Karim who were able to obtain seven out of the eight points.
As the matches drew to their conclusion it became apparent the result was going to come down to the Gross competitors. With Sunny Ramadas for Asia leading by a single stableford point over Craig Vance from Europe on the 18th Tee, the hole was to be pivotal in the end result.
Ramadas unfortunately made an uncharacteristic double bogey on the hole. Seizing the opening, Vance birdied the 18th, increasing his score to 29 stablefords and enabling him to narrowly beat America’s & Australasia representative Jon Huntley by a point and claim all four match points for his team.
In the penultimate match George Liu from Asia and Chris Cornwall from Europe shared the points for second and third place in a closely fought battle. In the final match Dave Lawlor finished comfortably in first place for his fourball, taking the maximum four match points.
In a cruel twist of fate, Lawlor’s card was enhanced by a hole in one on the 12th hole on the second loop. He’d have driven away in a new BMW had it been first time round. It was, nevertheless, a key moment as Lawlor beat Asian rival Sinar Suraj by two match points to confirm Europe’s successful title defence.
Final standings:
1. Europe - 26.5 points
2. Asia - 23 points
3. Africa and Middle East - 21.5 points
4. Americas and Australasia – 19 points
Qualifiers for the 6th Battle of the Continents event commence in October.">