In October 2010, 26 teams of amateur golfers from around the world gathered to battle it out for the coveted MercedesTrophy.
The fact that they had made it this far was a triumph in itself. More than 58,000 golfers, from 40 countries around the world entered, and after months of hard fought competition, the best team would soon be decided.
The UK trio of Paul Williams from Nottingham, Tony Beal from Fareham and Sam Jones from Stevenage reached the MercedesTrophy final following a series of Retailer invitational tournaments, followed by regional heats and a national final.
At the world final, the trio took to the tee with 25 other teams for what was to be a hard fought contest, held over the three days, on two courses, close to the Stuttgart home of Mercedes-Benz. A strong team from China were continually in hot pursuit, matching them stroke for stroke. So the pressure was on for the UK team to make every drive, pitch and putt count.
As each hole and day passed by, the tension mounted. But Paul, Tony and Sam held their nerve to record a historic win. It is only the second time in the tournament’s
21-year history that a UK golfing team has won the team event.
Furthermore, Paul and Tony recorded wins in other classes of the tournament, rounding off what was a supreme showing from the UK’s amateur golfers.
The MercedesTrophy is an annual event, and in 2011 the UK team of Neal Frances, Simon Matton and Simon Hill will be fighting to retain the Nations Cup.
We wish them every success and congratulations once again to Paul, Tony and Sam.
