Forces for courses – PGS expeditionary team carry out Dutch recce

Next year the Press Golfing Society hosts the annual meeting of the European Masters for Golf-playing Journalists (EMGJ) for the first time.

So, with one eye firmly on sharing and learning, a PGS expeditionary force tackled this year’s EMGJ event, the Redexim Nations Cup on Texel island in The Netherlands.

Once the team had landed – via planes, trains, automobiles, ferries and hoppers – the pairings of Nick Buckley (Captain)/ Ben Griffiths, Evan Samuel/ Andi White, Pip Clothier/ Neil White, Jane Malone/ Keith Malone, and Neale Adams/ Phil Harris had a splendid three days.

A practice round on the Tuesday gave the team a first look at the magnificent De Texelse links, rich in dunes, birdlife, lakes and impenetrable flora. The two-day competition which followed consisted of a two-ball scramble on the Wednesday and a better ball on the Thursday.

As is the annual tradition in this event, the PGS performance was better off the course than on it where the team fell just short of their target of a top five finish. All the pairings performed commendably with the Adams/ Harris partnership the stand-out success, bringing in top scores for the PGS on both days.

The event was won by the Austrians, with Denmark second and hosts The Netherlands coming in an impressive third. The PGS would like to send a huge thank you to organisers Cara de Vlaming and Hélène Wiesenhaan for all their support towards next year’s event which will be held at East Sussex National on 11-16 October.