Youth Golf Open a big success at Elea Estate

The yearly Nicos Severis Youth Golf Open was held at the Elea Estate Golf Club at the end of the week with the cooperation of 124 youngsters – the  youngest was five years of
age – from 16 nations from Europe and the Mediterranean area.

This was the fifth progressive year the two-day occasion, which finished with Sunday's awards ceremony, is sorted out by the Cyprus Golf Federation and supported by Marie Severis, spouse of the late Nicos Severis, who was the primary President of the Cyprus Golf Federation (CGF), from 2000 until his death in 2008. Severis was an eager golfer who had attempted to urge the  young to play the game.

Weekend weather conditions were ideal and participants, mainly from northern European countries, were delighted with the spring conditions in Cyprus in mid-February.

The president of the CGF, Dimitris Papapetrou, expressed his satisfaction for the excellent organisation, the number of participants and their high standard. He thanked Mrs Severis and her family for the long-standing support of golf in Cyprus and in particular of junior golf.

The intention of both the federation and the sponsor was to enhance and upgrade the event to a three-day competition soon, which would make it eligible for inclusion in the list of participating events for World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) points, Papapetrou said.

As was expected, the presence of Cypriot junior golfers was strong and Papapetrou said that the Federation, mainly with the financial support of the R&A, had invested heavily in junior golf in recent years and implemented plans for its growth. He expressed his regret that international support for junior golf in Cyprus outweighed the limited financial support offered by the Cyprus authorities.

A strong field of 51 foreign and Cypriot youngsters took part in the 36-hole championship. On Day 1 Austria’s Paul Schebesta and Italy’s Lorenzo Tatti shared the lead, both on 75, with Germany’s Henry Winter-Bourke in third place on 76 and local boy Savvas Michaelides in fourth place on 77.

On the second day, Bulgaria’s Ryan Staykov and Russia’s Daniel Barrios Milioukov both had blistering rounds of 73 each, but Schebesta’s steady game saw him shoot 74 for the day and claim the 2017 Championship with a total score of 149.

Staykov was second on 151 and Milioukov third on 153. Best Cypriot results were Savvas Michaelides’ 14th placing with 162 and Nikolas Pitiris’ 16th placing with 164.

Sunday, Day 2 of the event, saw the Championship players being joined on the course by another 73 juniors – ages ranging from 5 to 14 years old – competing in different age and ability groups. Worthy of note was the hole-in one by 8-year-old Oliver Halifax during Friday’s practice.

Championship (Saturday and Sunday, 11 – 12 February 2017) 
Champion: Paul SCHEBESTA – Austria (149)
Runner-Up: Ryan STAYKOV – Bulgaria (151)
Third: Daniel BARRIOS MILIOUKOV – Russia (153)
Day 1 Gross: Lorenzo TATTI – Italy (75)
Day 1 Net: Savvas MICHAELIDES – Cyprus (68)
Day 2 Gross: Giovanni SIANI – Italy (75)
Day 2 Net: Lev GRINBERG – Ukraine (68)
Severis National Cup (Stableford – Sunday, 12 February 2017)
Winner: Ectoras MENELAOU – Cyprus (37 pts)
Runner Up: Finley GRATIL – Malta (36 pts)
Third: Hara ASPATAKI – Greece (34 pts