An international competition involving teams fromSpain,Italy, theCzech RepublicandBrazilwas held at La Cala Resort in Mijas, Málaga over two days at the end of March. This was effectively a rematch as the sides had all qualified for last year’s World Golfers’ Campionship (WGC) final held inSouth Africa. The 36-hole event was played on CampoAmericaand Campo Asia in brilliant sunshine and the host nation were victorious by five shots fromItalyin second andBrazilthird.

The WGC is designed to give golfers of all skill levels the thrill of representing their country in a global championship. It was first held in 1995 and the location for the final changes every year. Arnold Palmer is the WGC’s Tournament Patron and Severiano Ballesteros was Honorary Chairman of the Advisory Board.

Last year over 1000 players competed in the various qualifying events held at La Cala Resort and other golf clubs throughoutSpainfor a place in the National Final in what is considered to be the World Golf Championship for amateurs. This year the national final will take place in La Cala on the 1st and 2nd of September. The winners in each of five handicap categories in the national final go on to representSpainin the international final inSouth Africa, with all expenses paid.

The captain of the Italian side was Lorenzo Dussoni fromRome. He was very impressed with the facilities at La Cala. “This is my first time in the resort and I think it is an ideal holiday location. It has everything: three good courses, hotel, spa, football pitch and it is near the sea. The landscape is typically Mediterranean, very natural and the views are stunning.” Paulo Pimentel from theBrazilside described the complex as “very beautiful and a great location”, while his team-mate, British ex-pat Tim Shooter, who lives inRio de Janeiro, said he really enjoyed the competition and the location. “Both courses were great as was the competition itself. There were six teams this year and I think more countries will want to participate as word spreads about how enjoyable it is.”

The best individual score was recorded by Juan Antonio Ruiz Batana ofSpain. The three handicapper shot rounds of 70 and 79 to lead his team to victory. Juan Antonio has representedSpainin the last two international finals inThailandandSouth Africa. He says he put his local knowledge to good effect. “I live locally so I know the courses here quite well. That is a definite advantage but they are still difficult, especially if it is windy. It was a very enjoyable two days of competition and nice to meet up again with players from other national teams.” There was a positive reaction from theCzechRepublicteam who appreciated the opportunity to play golf in lovely, sunny weather when courses in their home country are closed due to the winter weather.

The 25 year old South African looked to be coasting towards the title when, having shaken off the challenge of Spain’s José Manuel Lara, he stood on the 17th tee with a three shot lead.

However, he overcooked his approach and failed to get up and down, the resulting bogey his first for 46 holes.

A wayward drive at the last then struck a camera, and his second went left in to trees, but faced with a daunting third over the water Kruger displayed nerves of steel to stick his approach to ten feet.

He missed the resulting birdie putt, but par was good enough for a round of 69 and 14 under par total at DLF Golf & Country Club.

That was two better than Spain’s Jorge Campillo, whose 67 was the joint-best effort of the day, and German Marcel Siem – who had a sniff of a chance at the last until his third found the bunker, the resulting par leaving him with a 70.

Lara and Australian Marcus Fraser shared fourth on 11 under, two-time winner Lara finding water at the final hole to sink his chances after a brilliant outward 32 had given him a share of the lead.

“I’m very relieved to win for the first time,” said Kruger, who putted beautifully all week. “If you want to win you need to make putts on the final day and I did that today.

“It’s a big relief now that I’ve won but I think I needed all those second-placed finishes to be able to appreciate it. There was no pressure even when I made my only bogey of the day on the 17th.

“I felt that victory was inevitable when I got to the 14th hole. I knew that I had a good chance as I had a comfortable three-shot cushion then. I like to know what’s going on and I’m aware of the movements on the leaderboard.”

Earlier a red-hot putter moved Lara into contention as the 34 year old holed 15 foot birdie putts at the first and third, before curling in a monster 60 footer at the fifth.
Overnight leader Kruger responded with a birdie at the fourth from 12 feet, and both gained a shot on the long sixth, before Lara almost holed-in-one at the par three eighth, leaving a tap-in birdie.

Kruger holed a birdie putt from 20 feet at the eighth to enter the back nine with a one shot lead, and the decisive fourth birdie of the day followed at the par three 11th.

Lara was struggling from the tee by this point, and although he scrambled pars at the ninth, tenth and 12th, he caught a flyer on the 13th and his 25 foot par putt finished a fraction short to leave Kruger three clear.

Lara found water at the last, allowing Campillo snatch a share of second with a chip-in birdie on the same hole, while Siem – fourth last week in Dubai – had six birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey, the highlight coming when the 31 year old struck his approach from the rough to five feet to set up a birdie at the first.

“I started really well and the whole time was up there on the leaderboard,” said Challenge Tour graduate Campillo, who holed a 30 footer on the eighth to complete a hattrick of gains.

“So it was great fun and very exciting. I just tried to play my best. I played okay on the back nine, not great, but I didn’t make many mistakes and I chipped in on the last for birdie so it was nice to finish strongly.

“It was just very exciting. I knew I was playing well and all of a sudden after eight holes I’m up at the top of the leaderboard. It’s the first time I’ve been in that situation and I think I handled it pretty well. Next time this happens maybe I can just do slightly better on the back nine.”

There was disappointment for Scotland’s Peter Whiteford, however. Chasing his maiden European Tour title, the Scot was only one behind overnight, but eagle-eyed viewers alerted European Tour Chief Referee John Paramor to an incident on the 18th fairway during the third round.

Whiteford’s ball moved fractionally after he had addressed it, and having already signed for an incorrect score he was informed of his disqualification upon reaching the fourth tee.

The final was the third qualifying event of the Graham Moore Junior Tour. The other two events were held inEngland. Graham, who developed the Tour, is a FPGA golf professional based in theU.K.andMarbella. This is the eight year he has organised a series of competitions for upcoming players that allows them to experience the thrill of competitive golf on a course designed for their age category.

Graham explains: “We don’t use handicaps to differentiate between the players. Instead as Tournament Director I decide where to put the different tees so, for example, all the juniors have a chance of shooting a par, birdie or even an eagle! There is nothing like this in theU.K.or in continentalEurope. In theU.S.andAustralia, they have the correct length of holes to suit each age level. We have age categories from under six to 19 years. We place the tees accordingly and we play off scratch.”

Graham says the decision to choose La Cala Resort for the event was a good one: “We’ve been here in Málaga for a few years now, based inMarbella. We decided this year to move a bit nearer Málaga city and looked atLa Cala. I’m so pleased we came here. It is the most professional support we have received – ever. Next year’s event is already booked for the 26th & 27th January2013.”

The overall winner of the event was eight year-old Alejandro Rodriguez-Andreu from Alicante (Spain). He won in a play-off versus 16-year old category winner George Tyman from the U.K. Alejandro, who also won his category in 2011, was very pleased to retain his title. “It’s great to win again. CampoAsia was difficult but I liked it a lot. The greens and the whole course were in great condition. I’m so happy to have retained my title.”

One of the sponsors of the event was a new French company – Toowap. Toowap is an integrated GPS system with a pitch repairer and divot tool incorporated. Developed inFranceit also allows users to monitor their performance via the internet.

Over the past 20 years,La Cala Resorthas developed into the biggest golf and leisure destination in Spain with 3×18 hole courses, a luxury hotel & spa plus a David Leadbetter Academy. The resort is ideally located in the heart of the Costa del Sol between Marbella and Mijas and only 30 minutes from Málaga Airport.

Visit www.lacala.com for more information.

One behind Lee Westwood overnight, the 27 year old Spaniard – whose only previous European Tour victory came at the 2009 Austrian Golf Open – carded a bogey free 68 to reach 18 under and triumph by a solitary stroke.

Three of Cabrera-Bello’s birdies, including a crucial three on the 17th, came on the back nine as his rivals struggled to make headway in breezy conditions.

Westwood, who had led by two strokes this morning following a superb eagle at the second but struggled to find his best form on the greens, and Stephen Gallacher shared second place after respective rounds of 70 and 69. Both men missed putts to force a play-off on the 18th.

Westwood has now finished as runner-up in this event on three occasions, yet he does have the small consolation of taking the World Number Two spot back off Rory McIlroy – by 0.004 ranking points.

Cabrera-Bello, the first round leader courtesy of a scintillating 63, becomes the third Spaniard in succession to have triumphed in Dubai, following Miguel Angel Jiménez in 2010 and Alvaro Quiros in 2011.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling and it’s been a really spectacular week for me,” said Cabrera-Bello, remembering that he began it with nine birdies in 11 holes.

“With so many big, big names I felt really proud of myself. I wanted to fight, I stayed calm, I did everything that I’ve read we should do in these type of situations.

“I really, really feel happy and proud that my name is going to be written down on the same trophy as (Seve) Ballesteros and (José María) Olazábal and Jiménez and my great friend, Alvaro.

“It’s a really amazing feeling for me to be a little bit a part of the same history they are.”

Elaborating on the pride he felt, Cabrera-Bello added: “I’m just happy that I was able to win and I was even happier to get a win in a very prestigious event.

“Not just with Lee, whom I admire a lot, but also with all of the big names that were up there contending, like Rory, like Martin (Kaymer), the other guys that came up, like Stephen, like myself, they are all really, really good players.

“Just the fact that I was able today to be successful just proves to me that I’m working on the right line. It gives me a lot of confidence that I have proven to myself that I can perform at least one week as good as themselves. It’s just a huge, huge confidence and huge morale boost.”

“This will open a lot of doors and this was really the quality jump in my game I was looking for, and I had been practising hard for it.”

Gallacher reflected on his near miss with mixed emotions.

“I would have loved to have made the play-off,” said the Scot. “But fair play to Rafa, he played well, and 18 under is a good score in these conditions.

“I struggled a bit off the tee today but I hit a lot of good iron shots and made a few putts at the right time. But I had a chance to sort of get into the play-off on the last, so (I’m) just a wee bit disappointed but happy overall.”

McIlroy – the 2009 champion – dropped out of contention early on, but picked up four shots on the way home to claim a share of fifth on 14 under, one behind Germany’s Marcel Siem.

Alongside McIlroy were Denmark’s Søren Kjeldsen, whose 67 featured six birdies, Scotland’s Scott Jamieson and South Africa’s George Coetzee.

Kaymer, who began the day two adrift of Westwood on 13 under, may have realised it wasn’t going to be his day when he missed presentable birdie chances on each of the first three holes. Although he did pick up a shot on the short fourth, he went on to sign for a 74 that left him in a tie for 13th.

Korda started well but faded to post a one-over 74 for Sunday, forcing her into a playoff with compatriots Stacy Lewis and Brittany Linicome, South Korean pair So Yeon Ryu and Hee Kyung Seo and Paraguay’s Julieta Granada after they all finished with overall scores of three-under-par.

Every player made par on the first playoff hole, before a birdie on the second sealed victory for the 18-year-old Korda.

After three birdies from the first eight holes, Korda looked likely to cruise to victory.

But disaster struck on the par four ninth, when she produced a double-bogey, and four more bogeys on the back nine followed, leaving her with a score of 74.
Lewis – who was the tournament co-leader after day one – was the best performed player over the 18 holes of regulation play, with four birdies seeing her shoot 70, while Lincicome and Granada both finished with 71.

Both Ryu and Seo finished with an even-par score of 73 while fellow South Korean Jenny Shin finished at two-under in outright seventh.

American Katie Futcher and world number one Yani Tseng – who won the Australian Open in 2010 and 2011 – were a shot further back in a tie for eighth.

Nikki Campbell and Sarah Kemp were the best of the Australians, both finishing at one-over in a tie for 12th.

The tense nature of the playoff did not seem to affect the players, who all made par on the first hole and looked relatively comfortable.

Lewis lipped out in her attempt to win it on the first playoff hole but it was Korda who stole the show with a tremendous birdie putt on the second.

Korda – who is the daughter of 1998 Australian Open tennis champion Petr – becomes the first American to win the tournament since Debbie Austin’s triumph at the Manly Golf Club in 1978.

The G.I.R.L.S. Golf Society, based in Marbella, enjoyed a lovely day out on the Campo Europa course last week whilst playing a stableford competition for their members. Perfect weather conditions saw some good scoring with first place for the ladies going to Alison Jackson on 39 points  and Charley Walton with 40 Points winning the men’s category.

Club organiser Lynn Fisher won a nearest to the pin prize and said All the players had enjoyed a wonderful day day atLa Cala Resortwhich had been a resounding success for everyone who took part.

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