Professionals and golf enthusiasts from 23 countries renewed their meeting for the next Messinia Pro-Am on 20-23 February 2019
The 2nd Messinia Pro-Am at Costa Navarino was successfully completed with a total of 44 teams from 23 countries and 4 continents. The tournament, which took place February 21-24, also launched the tourism season in Greece.
44 professionals and 132 amateur golfers enjoyed sunshine and lush Messinian surroundings, playing golf amongst hundred-year-old olive trees at the award-winning signature golf courses, The Dunes Course and The Bay Course, with stunning views of the Ionian Sea and the historic Bay of Navarino.
Hosted at The Westin Resort Costa Navarino, the 2nd Messinia Pro-Am showcased strong competition, which led to impressive results, including two hole-in-ones from Stuart Boyle (PGA Great Britain & Ireland) and John Radzioch (German amateur).
Achilles V. Constantakopoulos, Chairman & CEO of TEMES SA, developers of Costa Navarino, welcomed golfers at the tournament: “We are thrilled to see that the second edition of our international golf tournament had such high participation. It is our hope and aspiration to establish a high-level annual event which will give participants from all over the world the opportunity not only to play at IAGTO’s ‘European Golf Resort of the Year 2017’, but also to discover the region of Messinia. Greece has the potential to become a leading international golf destination and we make every effort to move in this direction.”
The action officially launched on February 22, and the following day, the tournament was enriched with the “Rock ‘n’ Roll” Charity Night, during which participants enjoyed bowling and dance, while donating to SOS Children’s Villages Greece. For those who still wish to contribute, please visit the link at the Messinia Pro-Am website.
On February 24, the winners of the tournament were awarded at the glamorous Gala Dinner. The memorable evening, which was presented by actors Manos Gavras and Elena Charbila, had a special surprise for all: a live performance by Boyzlife, the duet formed by the famous British pop singers Brian McFadden (Westlife) and Keith Duffy (Boyzone).
The tournament was highly competitive with a number of fluctuations at the golfers’ ranking, up until the last minute. Ultimately, the German professional Philipp Mejow (PGA Germany) was crowned champion of the 2nd Messinia Pro-Am, leaving Israeli Asaf Cohen (PGA Israel) in 2nd place, after a hotly contested playoff. Third place was shared between Christos Nikopoulos (PGA Greece) and Stuart Boyle (PGA Great Britain & Ireland).
“I am so happy and proud because I put in a lot of work during the winter,” said Mejow. “It’s been a long time since I won my last tournament, so I’m really happy to begin the season like this. I will try to be back next year, because Costa Navarino is one of the most beautiful places I know.”
In other categories, on the last day of the tournament, Austrian Gunther Ausserdorfer stood out for the best performance at The Bay Course and, respectively, Romanian Ciprian Zavloschi for best performance at The Dunes Course.
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Messinia Pro-Am was organized in collaboration with PGAs of Europe, an Association of 35 National PGAs (32 European and 3 international) with a collective membership in excess of 21,000 golf professionals, committed to the advancement of golf, golfers and the golf profession across Europe. The Association is also a partner in Ryder Cup Europe as the sole member of the Ryder Cup European Development Trust, and is widely acknowledged as a lead body in the delivery of golf development expertise on a global basis through its collaboration with The R&A in its “Working for Golf” programme. [ www.pgae.com]
Messinia Pro-Am was also held under the auspices of PGA of Greece, the Hellenic Golf Federation and the Hellenic Olympic Academy. The awards were created by J.VOURAKIS SONS EE. The gifts of the “Shiny” Gala Dinner were offered by Luc Belaire and Samsung who offered the Gear Sport smartwatches.
The official airliner of the tournament was for one more year Aegean Airlines, a member of the strongest global alliance, Star Alliance.
The official sponsors of the tournament were Vodafone, Athens International Airport and MyTransfer.
The official technology sponsor of the tournament was Samsung, for the first time in Greece in the field of golf tournaments.
The official travel partner of Messinia Pro-Am, Kyvernitis Travel, has taken care of the better attendance and booking of participants.
The event innovated with the support of Fysiotek as a sports science partner. Official supporters of the tournament were Ford Motor Hellas, Natural Mineral Water “Vikos”, J.VOURAKIS SONS EE, Poseidonia, Luc Belaire, Stoli, Paulaner, METAXA, Kir-Yianni, Marendry, Nescafé Alegria, Kalamata Papadimitriou and Siampis.
Also, the 2nd Messinia Pro-Am was assisted by ECOLAB, Kayak, Stefanouris, Messiniaki Paradosi, Dimiourgies, Fever-Tree and Avanti.
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