Another Hugely Successful Winter Training Trip

After six months worth of organising and preparations leading up to the Winter Training Trip there was always going to be a certain degree of anxiousness as we all eagerly anticipated our first trip to Mar Menor Golf Resort in Murcia, Spain.

With 8 rounds of golf to play in 10 days and with only 1 day off and 1 practice day it was always going to be a very busy schedule but one that we knew the students would thoroughly enjoy. Throughout the duration of the training we played a variety of different championship courses which were all expertly designed by the legendary Jack Nicklaus. The courses included Hacienda Riquelme, Alhama Signature, El Valle, La Torre and Mar Menor Golf Resort. Each course provided its own challenging test with a huge amount of bunkers with extremely quick and undulating greens.

The students competed in various different formats including a 2 day Ryder Cup competition were they played four ball better ball on the first day and singles on the second day. The first of the British Schools qualifying also took place before the 54 hole Stroke Play event on the final 3 days.

Group picture above taken on the range after day one

Picture above shows the view from the 10th tee on the spectacular Alhama Signature course.

Paul Conroy Takes Victory In The Winter Training Stroke Play Championship

The 54 hole stroke play competition took place at Hacienda Riquelme, Alhama Signature and El Valle Golf Courses over the final 3 days. Thankfully all of the students had the benefit of playing each of these courses in the first week which would be very beneficial.

After round 1 Paul Conroy lead the way with an excellent 2 over par 74. In a tie for 2nd place was Caolan Smith and Darragh Lynch. Caolan Smith produced the best nett score of the day with an impressive score of 60 after playing the back 9 in 1-under par gross. His round was also capped off with a holed bunker shot on the 18th. Gareth Reid made 3 birdies in a row from the 13th on his way to a net 67.

Round 2 would be played at the Alhama Signature course which was the favorite amongst the students. Paul Conroy continued the lead the way with another very solid round of 76 (+4) on a long and very challenging course.

Cold wet conditions on the final day at El Valle day made scoring very difficult but Paul stuck to it and ended up a 14 shot run away winner after shooting a third round 78. Gareth Reid pipped Caolan Smith by 1 shot to win the net competition.

... Gareth teeing off with driver on the first tee at El Valle	... Caolan Smith rolling in his birdie putt on the 18th green at Alhama Signature course	... Harry Thompson hitting 2 iron with his first tee shot at Alhama Signature course

American Claim Victory In Ryder Cup In Spain

Team USA proved to be too strong for team Europe with a 7 1/2 to 4 1/2 victory. However all matches were extremely competitive with all of them going as far as the 17th and 18th holes on the final day. The format on the first day was four ball better ball before playing singles matches on the final day.

The matches over the two days were contested in fantastic spirit with some excellent golf played by both teams.

British Schools Leaderboard

After the completion of 4 British Schools qualifying rounds in Spain the standings are as follows below. Qualifying will continue this week with the 5th round to be played at Portrush Golf Club.

After all of the qualifying rounds have been played the top 4 players will be selected to represent the school. The event will take place on 3rd and 4th May at Trevose Golf Club.