26 July 2010: Philip Bootsma, a 15 year-old boys’ international from Landsmeer, lived up to his growing reputation when he won the inaugural Faldo Series Netherlands Championship, staged at Goyer Golf and Country Club near Eemnes.
Bootsma, a 3-handicapper from Golf Club Houtrak, who represented his country in a recent Under-16 Quadrilateral international tournament against Scotland, Ireland and Wales, put together rounds of 69 and 71 for a four under par aggregate of 140 and a three stroke victory over Ruben van Uden, a scratch golfer from Helmond.
Bootsma’s victory in both the overall competition and the Boys’ Under-16 age group earns him a place in the 2010 Faldo Series Grand Final, to be staged over The Faldo Course at The Lough Erne Resort, Co. Fermanagh, Northern Ireland on September 21-23, where he will be joined by Boys’ Under-21 winner, van Uden, and the other age group winners, Walt Van der Kolk (Boys’ Under-18), Lianne Jansen (Girls’ Under-21) and Sophie van Wijngaarden (Girls’ Under-16). There, at the home of the Faldo Series Europe, they will come up against a strong international field comprising all the other winners from the other 16 events on the 2010 Faldo Series Europe schedule.
Invitations to compete at Lough Erne Resort have also be extended to Japan’s Masamichi Ito and Thailand’s Thidapa Suwannapura, winners of the Boys’ and Girls’ titles at the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final held at Mission Hills, China, earlier this year.
Bootsma started the event as one of the favourites and quickly lived up to his name with an impressive opening round of three under par 69 that left him three shots clear of the field. He dropped one shot during his front nine on the second day but then recovered to come home in two under par 34 and set a four under par target that none of the other competitors could match.
Van Uden won the Boys’ Under-21 category with rounds of 72 and 71 where his nearest challenger was the luckless Jelle Zaanen, a scratch golfer from Nieuwegein, who stormed home with a closing four under par 68 but narrowly missed out on a trip to Northern Ireland.
Walt Van der Kolk, a two-handicap golfer from Zwolle, had no need to replicate that sort of form, posting two rounds of 76 to finish one shot ahead of Niels Hendriks in the Boys’ Under-18 event while in the Boys’ Under-16 event Bootsma’s impressive performance was enough to give him a six shot victory over Rody Haije, a member of the host club.
The Girls’ Under-21 age group turned out to be a personal triumph for Lianne Jansen, an 18 year-old from Gieten, who claimed a qualification spot at Lough Erne by posting scores of 80 and 77 to finish two shots ahead of Tessa de Bruijn. The Girls’ Under-16 event was won by Sophie van Wijngaarden, a 5-handicapper from Dongen, who carded two rounds of 80 to finish three shots ahead of a threesome comprising Russia’s Ekaterina Protasova and Dewi Weber and Michelle Naafs from The Netherlands.
The inaugural Faldo Series Netherlands Championship attracted an impressive field of almost 120 golfers from five different countries, comprising Luxembourg, Russia, Belgium, Denmark as well as the host nation. The Championship at Goyer Golf and Country Club was the tenth on the 2010 Faldo Series Europe schedule with other events being played in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Brazil, Germany, Poland, Wales, Greece and Slovakia.
Special guest at the Faldo Series event in Holland was Ladies European Tour star, Kiran Matharu. Matharu, a former Curtis Cup player from Leeds and back-to-back Faldo Series girls’ champion in 2004 and 2005, took part in a number of “Fun Factory” clinics, supported by the Ryder Cup European Development Trust and designed to introduce local Dutch youngsters to the rudiments of the game of golf. Matharu also met with competitors and passed on tips accrued from over three years of competing on Tour.
Leading scores from the Faldo Series Netherlands Championship at Goyer Golf and Country Club (all players from The Netherlands unless stated):
Boys’ Under-21
143 – Ruben van Uden 72-71
144 – Jelle Zaanen 76-68
146 – Sem Westdijk 72-74
147 – Aron Joustra 78- 69, Max Biwer (Lux) 72-75
Boys’ Under-18
152 – Walt Van der Kolk 76-76
153 – Niels Hendriks 72-81
154 – Berry Jole 78-76, Lars van der Voort 80-74
155 – Tim Talma 79-76
Boys’ Under-16
140 – Philip Bootsma 69-71
146 – Rody Haije 74-72
148 – Dave Taekema 76-72
151 – Olivier Koolen 77-74
152 – Bram Baarslag 80-72
Girls’ Under-21
157 – Lianne Jansen 80-77
159 – Tessa de Bruijn 81-78
160 – Leonie Warringa 77-83
163 – Karin Jansen 82-81
165 – Ksenia Eremina (Rus) 85-80
Girls’ Under-16
160 – Sophie van Wijngaarden 80-80
163 – Dewi Weber 84-79, Ekaterina Protasova (Rus) 79-84, Michelle Naafs 80-83
165 – Zhen Botan 82-83
167 – Diantha Naafs 88-81