History repeats itself as Wally leads Munster to victory in the Algarve.
Main Pic: Team Captions Malcolm O'Kelly Leinster (left) and David Wallace Munster (right) in the Algarve.
For the 2nd year in succession David Wallace has lead his Munster team to glory in the Algarve Golf Challenge against a gallant Leinster side captained by Malcolm O’Kelly at the 5* Pestana Vila Sol Golf & Spa Resort.
The annual event hosted by Limerick based company GolfVoyager.com took place last weekend in Vilamoura and pitted 32 Munster golfers against 32 from Leinster. After 2 days of play Munster coasted to victory on a final score line of 23-9.
The four-ball event which runs in conjunction with the main event was a much closer affair and came down to a sudden death playoff for the second year in a row. Last year’s winners Adrian Kearney & Paul Coote from Woodstock GC in Ennis, who won the dramatic playoff in 2017, came from 9 points behind on day one to set the target in the club house on 78 points. This was matched by Mark Ponsonby & Chris Nee who followed their fantastic 46 points on day one with 32 points on day 2.
With light fading quickly both pairs headed to the 100m marker on the 18th fairway for a sudden death playoff. With a large gallery looking on over the 18th green the experienced Kearney & Coote came through by 1 shot. Kearney, Ponsonby & Nee all made bogey but Coote fired his approach to 8 feet and rolled his putt stone dead to retain the four-ball title for the Clare men.
Fintan Ward, Director of Operation at GolfVoyager.com, presented the Munster captain David Wallace with the ‘Algarve Challenge Cup’ on behalf of a jubilant Munster team. The 1st and 2nd placed teams in the fourball event were presented by Pauline Kwasniak, Events Partner at GolfVoyager.com with golfing holidays to Pestana Resorts in the Algarve with 3rd to 10th placed teams receiving vouchers for Druids Glen, Enniscrone, County Louth, The K Club, Dunmurry Springs, Rathsallagh, Limerick & Shannon golf clubs.
Enquires are now been taken for the 2019 Algarve Golf Challenge which will once again take place at Pestana Vila Sol in Vilamoura from 25th to 28th Jan 2019 . For this event and for all types of golfing holidays in Spain & Portugal, check out http:www.golfvoyager.com or call 061-514600
Caption: The Winning Munster Team at Pestana Resort
Caption: Runners-Up Leinster Team at Pestana Resort