Galway 11th as City of Newcastle wins European Men's Club Trophy
City of Newcastle’s Alex Dixon, Andrew Minnikin and Philip Ridden with the European Men's Club Trophy. Picture: EGA
Galway Golf Club finished 11th behind City of Newcastle Golf Club in the European Men's Club Trophy at Golf du Médoc Resort on Saturday.
The English club finished day one in fourth position on level-par with a six-shot deficit to German club, Stuttgarter Golf Club Solitude. They were also two shots behind defending champions, RCF La Boulie, and one shot back of Terre Blanche.
Galway finished on 10-over par as Ronan Mullarney and Liam Nolan shot 73s and Joe Lyons a discarded 80 in Bordeax, where the first round was cancelled due to unplayable course conditions following heavy rain.
Mullarney tied for 15th in the individual standings on four-over, ten strokes behind RCF La Boulie's Raphael Le Bot with Nolan two strokes further back in tied 24th on six-over and Lyons 57th on 16-over.
In the final round, City of Newcastle's Alex Dixon made six birdies on his way to a five-under-par 66, the joint lowest round of the day to put the City of Newcastle in the lead on six-under.
The overnight leaders struggled on Saturday, and none of the other teams were able to make a move, meaning City of Newcastle would claim a four-stroke victory, and their first ever title in the event.
The win marks the first time an English club has won the event since Ealing Golf Club lifted the trophy in 1990.
Having a counting 76 (+5) in their two counting scores, dropping them to a total score of one-under, Stuttgarter Golf Club would finish in a tie for third place with RCF La Boulie. They would ultimately claim the bronze medals over the seven-times champions however, having a lower total of non-counting scores.
GKG Golf Club of Iceland were the second-best performers in the final round behind the champions, moving from fifth on one-over to second on two-under, earning them the silver medals.
RCF La Boulie's Raphael Le Bot, was the top individual performer over the two days. The French player added a 72 (+1) to his round one 64 (-7) to finish on six under.
