HOLLAND WIN THE EISENHOWER TROPHY AS ENGLAND RUE A COSTLY
FIRST DAY
The Eisenhower Trophy is on the way to Europe after Holland
clung on to their third round lead during a competitive final
day at the World Amateur Team Championships. Joost Luiten
was the eventual hero for the Dutch as he played his final
five holes in six under par to snatch victory from the jaws
of defeat. They finished on a total of 554, 22 under par for
the tournament, two shots better than second placed Canada
and three ahead of the United States of America.
England battled back impressively on the final day making
up a total of eight shots to par. The team finished in tied
sixth position overall on 13 under and Oliver Fisher’s
final round of 67 gave him fifth place in the individual rankings.
The England trio of Fisher, Ross McGowan and Jamie Moul were
the lowest scoring team over the last three days but they
gave themselves too much to make up on the leaders after an
unfortunate first day in strong winds.
The Eisenhower Trophy was Cecil Bloice’s final tournament
as England Captain and he looked back on the performance with
pride, tinged with obvious disappointment.
“It’s been a great honour to have captained three
great players, quite probably the best team England has ever
sent to the Eisenhower Trophy,” commented England Captain
Cecil Bloice. “Obviously it was too bad we were hit
by the strong winds on the first day but to come back like
we have done after that shows the strong character of the
team.”
Fisher was England’s most consistent player over the
four days, rounds of 74, 66, 70 and 67 left him just two shots
behind the Individual Medalist, Dutchman Wil Besseling.
“Our best day out of the four,” commented Oliver.
“The last three days we had the best combined team score
of all which shows that this was a really strong England team.
It was too bad the wind did not work in our favour on the
first day. It is an honour to play in such a great team with
a great captain.”
The next World Amateur Team Championship takes place at Royal
Adelaide Golf Club, Australia, in 2008.
England Scores from South Africa
5th Oliver Fisher 74, 66, 70, 67 = 277 (-11)
T28th Ross McGowan 75, 72, 70, 69 = 286 (-2)
T70th Jamie Moul 75, 74, 74, 70 = 293 (+5)
Leading Team Scores
1st Holland 554
2nd Canada 556
3rd USA 557
4th Wales 559
5th Korea 561T
6th England, Scotland, and Argentina 563
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