11th – 13th November 2010 saw the 4th staging of the annual Taba Heights International Pro-Am. The course was again presented in pristine condition and welcomed 32 teams, totaling 128 competitors from countries as far afield as South Africa, England, Sweden, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and a local contingent from Egypt.
The players delivered some masterful strokes over the three days, as word spread through the resort of the high quality of golf being played hotel guests came to the course to view firsthand the tournament and its stellar field.
Participants enjoyed unrivaled luxury from the host Hotels, Intercontinental Taba Heights Resort, Marriott Red Sea Resort & Hyatt Regency as each Hotel played host to an evening function with the venue for the Gala Dinner and Prize Ceremony being held in the unrivalled setting of the poolside at the Intercontinental Taba Heights Resort.
Players were kept refreshed on the Golf Course with beverages from tournament sponsors, Heineken and Pepsi, whilst each competitor took home goodie bags from Egypt’s premier golf merchandise suppliers Orabi Agencies & Harriman Golf.
World Class performance seals Victory for Professional Chris Gill
Professional Results
PGA Professional Chris Gill (UK) was crowned Champion for the 2010 Taba Heights International Pro-Am with a stunning performance and a hot putter for company, as he sets a new tournament record of 14 under Par.
Round one saw Gill get off to a flyer returning a 5 under Par 67 that produced 7 Birdies. Also returning a 67 was Mark Baker (UK), Baker’s round also showed a high number of Birdies as he collected 6 over his round, this left day one with a tie for first place and poised for a showdown over the weekend. Only two shots further back was Neil Holman (UK), Holman shot a flawless round containing 3 birdies and no dropped shots to close with a 69.
Gill started round 2 in a steady fashion as be reached the turn in 2 under 34 with back-to-back birdies on holes 5 and 6, his back 9 holes saw him pick up another shot to Par and return a bogey free 69 to sit at -8 for the tournament. Another impressive performance from Mark Baker saw him keep in the coattails of Gill as a 68 saw him move to -7. Also moving into contention with 4 under 68’s were defending champion Bjorn Pettersson, 2009’s third placed - Darren Bragg. 2008 Champion also threw down the gauntlet as a 69 saw him move to -5 for the event. The fine scoring continued as Henrik Spongh (Sweden) was amongst the birdies shooting 69 to move -4.
The final round got under way in sublime scoring conditions similar the past two days as the wind hadn’t tested the golfers, leaving the course open for attacking golf. Gill set about his task reeling off 5 straight pars, reaching the long Par 5 6th, two arrow like shots set up a birdie 4 and moved him to -9, another birdie quickly followed at the tricky par 4 7th hole and closing the 9 with a birdie at the 9th brought victory within sight at -11 with 9 holes to play. Launching a monster drive down the par 5 10th hole saw Gill well within reach of the green in two as he struck another sweet shot onto the Green and calmly rolled home the Putt for an Eagle 3 to reach -13, another Birdie followed and the short Par 4 12th hole, as he cruised home with 6 straight pars to close in on the 2010 title with a bogey free 66 and set a new tournament record of -14.
Second place remained a very close affair as Bragg, Tarchetti and Baker fought for the runner-up position, both Bragg and Tarchetti returned impressive 69’s Baker slipped to 73 to leave them all tied on -8, an impressive total in its self. Separated by a last 9 countback saw Darren Bragg claim Runner-up spot, with Tarchetti in third and Baker claiming fourth.
Team Baker sets tournament record for Victory
Amateur Results
The team of Steve Wynne (6 H’cap), Ian Devenish (12 H’cap), Stuart MaCauley (5 H’cap) and Professional Mark Baker, set a new tournament record of 255 points – 39 under par and were duly crowned champion team for 2010.
Round 1 came to a close with a different team sitting atop the leader board as the team of Roger Dally (19 H’cap), Willem Kiljen (28 H’cap), Abeer Slaeem (36 H’cap) and Ahmed Shindy raced to a 4 point lead returning a superb 91 points, a round that saw the team gel together to produce some spectacular scoring and holing putts for fun. 4 points further back in second place was the team of Andrew Charlesworth (13 H’cap), Craig Woodman (15 H’cap), David Williams (21 H’cap) and professional Henry Law. A further shot back was the team of Professional champion Chris Gill and his team of JJ Galloway (18 H’cap), John (20 H’cap) & Christine Bell (27 H’cap).
Round two began with beautiful sunshine without a breath of wind the buzz around the clubhouse was that birdies were there to be had today if the benign weather conditions continued as the players warmed up on the range. Hot out of the blocks was the team of Steve Wynne (6) Ian Devenish (12 H’cap) Stuart MaCauley (5 H’cap) and Professional Mark Baker, they raced to the turn in a stunning 47 points, continuing their fine form over the back nine, they came home in 44 points for a 91 point total to fly up the leader board. Team Shindy, round one leaders, made steady progress without the fireworks of round one to shoot a commendable 83 points to have a 2 point cushion for the final round. Team Law maintained their hold on second place with a commendable score of 84 points, the day closed poised for a thrilling finish.
The first team to make a move on the final day was the team of Jason Andrew (12 H’cap), Asad Khan (16 H’cap), Anna Antonen (10) along with Professional Adrian Cafaro. Making light work of the course they returned a day’s best score of 88 points to claim third placed team overall with 253 points (36 under Par). Round one and two leaders, Dally, Kiljen, saleem and Professional Shindy, found themselves with cold putter as the putts failed to drop as they did over the first two days as they fell back into fourth place. Team Charlesworth, Woodman, Williams and Professional Law, again produced a very consistent performance as they returned an 11 under 83 points to claim second placed team with 254 points – 37 under Par. This left a grandstand finish for Steve Wynne, Ian Devenish, Stuart MaCauley and Professional Mark Baker as they continued their march towards the 2010 team title, standing on the 18 green Wynne needing to hole a tricky putt for 3 points to seal victory, he coolly rolled his putt home to salutes from the gallery around green the green as they bought the 2010 event to a thrilling close with a tournament record of 255 points – 38 under Par.
At the presentation ceremony in the stunning setting of the Intercontinental Taba Heights Resort, Professional Champion Chris Gill thanked the organisers, sponsors and host hotels for an incredible tournament and tremendous hospitality and promised to return next year to defend his title.
In closing, James Shippey, General Manager of Taba Heights Golf Resort paid tribute to all involved in making the event an outstanding success and looked forward to welcoming back all competitors for the 2011 Tournament.
