Matchplay Championship finale underway in desert
UK
The Golf Care Matchplay Championship, the UK’s biggest amateur golf event, will crown new winners this week as competitors from across the UK and Ireland gather at the world-renowned Els Club in Dubai Sports City, for the third successive year.
The three-day Grand Final showdown is underway and scores have been surprisingly low, with the players revelling in the heat of the Dubai desert.
After entering the tournament for just £30, a diverse array of amateur players are staking their claim for three titles in the Men’s Pairs, Mixed Pairs and Men’s Singles events. They have all earned their place in the emirate by virtue of their success in several knockout qualifying rounds and a Regional Final last month at Marriott Forest of Arden.
With TV cameras filming for a Sky Sports production next month, the event is offering some of the UK’s most avid golfers the ultimate opportunity to shine in front of a TV audience, whilst relaxing off the course at the luxurious 5-star JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, the world’s tallest dedicated hotel.
After the second round, reigning Men’s Singles champion Paul Llewellyn raced into the lead and showed the grit that brought him the title 12 months ago, with 38 points and a gross round of 75, in difficult conditions at The Els Club.
Llewellyn said: “I didn’t actually play that great today, but scored very well and got up and down a lot, including from the lake on the 15th! Three-over gross is a pretty good effort for me out there and it looks like tomorrow might be a bit of a shootout between me and Maartens, kind of like a Matchplay situation. He is a good player and hits the ball really well, so I expect it to go right down to the wire. It’ll all come down to the pressure at the end of the day.”
In the Men’s Pairs event, Martin Firth and Andrew Taylor from Tytheringon Golf Club in Macclesfield have completely turned the tables on last year, when they finished in ninth place. They have a two-shot lead over Geoff Edgar and Matt Blair from Kirkistown Castle Golf Club in Northern Ireland, after scoring 41 points in the betterball stableford format.
Taylor said: “Well, we’ve totally turned it around from last year! I certainly didn’t think we’d be leading with one round to play, but we’re looking forward to tomorrow to see if we can finish it off. The course is great and it certainly helps having played here before. We’re making fewer mistakes than 12 months ago, although it was a bit of a struggle early on when Martin had the shanks! Thankfully, I carried him a bit today, but it will be a team effort tomorrow.”
Meanwhile in the Mixed Pairs, Martin Pyke and Anne Wheble from Dartford Golf Club have stormed into a six shot lead after scoring 38 points.
With one round remaining, there is still everything to play for in Dubai. Competitors will rest up back at the five-star Marriott Marquis Hotel, before taking to the course for one last time tomorrow in the hope of becoming 2013 Matchplay Champions.
The tournament was first launched in 2003 and has grown to become the biggest in the UK & Ireland, with thousands of competitors originally teeing it up in the event.
Live Scoring has been introduced for the first-time and is allowing friends and family to keep up to date with all the action from the course. For more information visit www.matchplaychampionship.co.uk
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