© Sonia Reyes
The Championship was played over three rounds for a total 54 holes, 36 of which were played in two continuous rounds on Saturday.
Spectators were treated to a show of golf skill, perseverance and resistance. In the words of Federal Champion Sofia Seldemirova, “It is a good challenge because it makes you stay focused for a long time”
Only the best national golfers were on the course, as the max handicap requested by the FLG was 4.4 for men and a 11 for women — this guaranteed just the top players in the country would be up to the challenge. In total 34 players faced the Grand Ducal course for two days.
After a very hot and intense weekend, the stands were even hotter, bringing a different leader on the men's side at the end of each round.
After an amazing performance, the new National Champion after the three rounds was young Nicolas Winandy with a total score of +3. Humble and always smiling, he said, "I am very happy for being the winner - my putting was great, though I had a tough competition: Patrick put me [under] a lot of pressure!"
The runner up was Patrick Rahme, an experienced player, with a score of +6, and third place went to Lenny Mines with a score of +10.
On the ladies' side, the winner of the tournament was Sofia Seldemirova with a score of +19, which won her the Federal Champion Trophy.
The Luxembourg National Champion title went to Mary Baertz with a score of +23. Third place overall and runner-up National went to Vinciane Macharis with a score of +26.
Our National Champion Marie Baertz is looking forward to her future in a D1 University in the US where she will be playing collegiate golf.
For the Mid-Am Tournament, overall champions were Patrick Rhame in first place, Michael Pickford as runner up with +12 with third place going to Liam Petite with +14 strokes.
The Mid-Am Championship trophy on the ladies' side was earned by Vinciane Macharis, leaving Marie Binninger with +30 as runner up and third place for Virginia Strelen with +36 strokes.
Golf in Luxembourg has been growing among new generations, clearly visible in the young and new National Championships.
In the words of Sofia, “I see that right now are more and more young players, I played junior and now I play amateur golf, it is nice to see a new generation of golfers coming up.”
