Each month 10 names are randomly selected from all golfers that have used our online Booking Form. From these 10 golfers a second draw is made for the winner of the prize sponsored by Hotel Le Meridien Hotel Penina ***** and Golf Course, and Dona Filipa Hotel ***** & San Lorenzo Golf Course in the Algarve. The monthly prize includes a standard "weekend break accommodation" with breakfast for two in the Hotel specified, together with a round of golf for two guests on the course attached to the Hotel.

All of the 10 golfers of each month will be listed in our Newsletter and notified by separate e-mail. The nominated golfers who were drawn for the month of June are listed below.

Carolyn Rivett - David Albon - Gary Brennan - Keith Fyvie - Mark Douglas - Mike Broadley - Robert Hughes - Robin Paton - Stephan Field - Stephen Puckett

General News
The month of June is generally considered to be the last month of the main golfing season in the Algarve, although many golfers still take to the fairways to benefit from the lower green-fee rates in the summer, and this also gives the opportunity for several social and charity competitions to be organised.

The Portuguese Golf Managers Association (AGGP) recently held a conference at the Le Méridien Penina Golf & Resort with the main point of discussion being water consumption by golf courses and ways to economise this precious liquid, such as more extensive use of the vast amounts of available treated and recycled water, much of which ends up in the sea. An environmental engineer gave a presentation that included statistics on water usage for domestic, farming and golf needs, the legislation on subsidies for using recycled water, etc. Other talks were given by Veolia staff on sustainable development and good management of the water cycle for golf courses, by suppliers of irrigation systems and finally by Jerry Kilby CEO of the CMAE (Club Managers Assn. of Europe) who described the objectives of the Association, such as education and professional development for club managers.

The annual Sir Henry Cotton Trophy took place with a good international field of players at its permanent venue, the Penina Championship course that rightly bears the famous maestro’s name. This time, the 18-hole medal-play tournament was won by Lagos GC member José Armando Rodrigues with a 2-under-par net score of 71 after a count-back with Peter Mills (Penina GC) and António Glória (Carvoeiro GC) who were awarded the 2nd and 3rd prizes respectively. There were also prizes for the longest drive (men) - Bob Hart, and (ladies) Renate Cave, as well as nearest the pin - Miguel Heliodoro.

On 20th & 21st of June, Solverde – the company that owns several casinos throughout Portugal – staged the third of its 7th annual series of 36-hole tournaments at the Quinta da Ria golf resort near Tavira. After the first round over the Quinta da Ria course, the players and guests were treated to a dinner and live show at the nearby Monte Gordo Casino, before the Sunday round at the more testing Quinta de Cima. Several players had previously qualified from each of the five tournaments held on northern courses, from Chaves in the far north of the country down to the Algarve in the south.

Several more players earned their places at Quinta da Ria for the season-ending final which will be on 19th-20th September at the Oporto Golf Club in Espinho. There are separate divisions for ladies, men (12 handicap and under, and 12.1 to 24), as well as a gross division. A special prize was given to Domingos Melo Cardoso who had an ace at the 11th hole at Quinta de Cima, and course owner José Lisboa provided a few bottles of celebratory champagne for those at the Sunday prize-giving party. The next Solverde tournament in the series is being held on 11th-12th July on the Oceânico Victoria and Old Courses, both being in Vilamoura.

The Oceânico Victoria Course was once again the venue for one of the qualifying tournaments for The Duke of Edinburgh Cup, a prestigious event aimed at raising funds for charities for young people. Close to 90 golfers took part in the competition, with 9-handicapper Paul Kennedy returning a card of 40 Stableford points to take the top prize, followed by Matthew Partridge, David Simpson and Abby Glennie, all on 36 points.

One of Vila Sol’s main tournaments of the year is the Sir Bobby Robson Celebrity Golf Classic and on 4th July, a large number of famous footballers of years gone by were seen playing on the championship course near Vilamoura joining as part of teams composed with amateur golfers from the general public. This was the 6th Classic and as usual, funds are raised to help the Refúgio Aboim Ascensão, a children’s home run by Dr. Luís Villas-Boas in Faro. In spite of his poor health, Sir Bobby attended the event with his wife Elsie and was enthusiastically applauded during the gala dinner.

A magnificent total of €63,000 was raised, thanks to an auction conducted by sports commentator Jonny Gould, whose skills at pitting one bidder against another are both entertaining and priceless. The winning team “Higgins Heroes” captained by Fooball Manager, Bryan Gunn together with Gary Higgins, Anthony Baxter and Mitchell Steel scored 91 Stableford points. In second place were “The Bandits” (Pat Jennings, Paul Castille, Jon Harris and Jamie Robertson with 88 points.

Upcoming events in July, apart from the Solverde one, include a charity tournament at the Morgado Course on the 19th to raise funds for the Portimão volunteer fire brigade at the attractive price of €40 including a barbecue (Contacts: Terry - 282 997197; Pat – 282 471767, or Gabriele 916105634). On 25th & 26th July, the Le Méridien Penina Golf & Resort are holding a 36-hole tournament as part of the Golfe & Comunicação series, now in its 19th year.

Tiger Woods birdied the final two holes to clinch victory at the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley at Muirfield Village in Ohio. The world number one shot a final-round of seven-under-par 65 for a 12-under 276 overall total. That was enough to overcome a four-shot deficit on overnight leaders Matt Bettencourt and Mark Wilson. Jim Furyk, who shot 69, finished in second place, a
stroke back on 277 and moved back into the World Top 10.

Denmark’s Jeppe Huldahl held off Niclas Fasth and Ignacio Garrido to secure his maiden European Tour title at The Celtic Manor Wales Open. The 26-year-old, who held the joint lead overnight, produced a faultless display on the final day, not dropping a shot in a 67 for a nine-under-par total. With this win, his first top 10 finish on the European Tour, Huldahl climbed 175 places to World Nº 202.

Other winners that week were Yuji Igarashi at the UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship Shishido Hills on the Japan Golf Tour, Mathias Gronberg at the Melwood Prince George's County Open on the Nationwide Tour, Christoph Guenther at the Kärnten Golf Open presented by Markus Brier Foundation on the European Challenge Tour and Byron Smith at the Times Colonist Open on the Canadian Tour.

Brian Gay, who won the Verizon Heritage tournament in April by 10 strokes, won the St. Jude Classic by 5 strokes having lead since day one. The win seals his place in next week's US Open and moved him into the World Top 50 for the first time in his career as he climbed 19 positions to Nº 35.
 
Other winners that week were Yuta Ikeda at the Japan PGA Championship on the Japan Golf Tour, Kevin Johnson at the Knoxville Open Presented by Food City on the Nationwide Tour, Robert Coles at the Challenge of Ireland presented by Moyvalley on the Challenge Tour and Mike Grob at the City of Surrey Invitational on the Canadian Tour.

Lucas Glover claimed a two-shot victory in a dramatic final day which he and Ricky Barnes had started with a five-shot lead over the field at seven under par as the rain delayed US Open Championship moved into a fifth day at Bethpage Black. At one point the lead was held jointly by Glover, Phil Mickelson and David Duval while England's Ross Fisher also challenging. Glover clinched his first Major Championship win with a birdie on 16 and pars on the final two holes as his rivals all bogeyed either the 15th or 17th holes or both. Glover moved into the World Top 20 to Nº 18, a jump of
53 places and after starting the year as only Nº 177.

Other winners that week were Christian L Nilsson at the SAINT-OMER OPEN presented by Neuflize OBC co-sanctioned by the European Tour and European Challenge Tour and Jason Enloe at the Fort Smith Classic Presented by Stephens Inc. on the Nationwide Tour.

Kenny Perry claimed his second victory of the year and jumped to the top of the FedEx Cup standings as he won the Travelers Championship in Connecticut. Perry shot a final-round of seven-under-par 63 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, for a total of 22 under par for the tournament, three shots clear of David Toms, who closed with a 65. The win took Perry to a new career best and 4th in the Official World Golf Ranking, an improvement of 3 places on the week.

Nick Dougherty claimed his first European Tour title for two years after a one shot victory over Rafa Echenique at the BMW International Open. The Englishman started the day three shots behind Retief Goosen but his nine birdies and just a solitary bogey secured a sublime eight under round of 64 which completed a 22 under total. Echenique holed his second at the last for his first ever albatross. Dougherty jumped 56 places to Nº 64.

Oher winners that week were Ryo Ishikawa at the Gate Way To The Open Mizuno Open Yomiuri Classic on the Japan Golf Tour, Tom Gillis at the Nationwide Tour Players Cup on the Nationwide Tour, Andrew Butterfield at the The Princess on the Challenge Tour and Graham Delaet at the ATB Financial Classic on the Canadian Tour.