The stroke play qualifying stage of the 2024 European Team Championships is in the books.
After 36 holes of stroke play, the competitions now switch to match play, pitting countries head-to-head.
The Flight A medal-contention brackets are set. The top-8 teams from each of the six tournaents have earned spots in the quarter-finals, and will battle it out on Thursday in match play.
HIGHLIGHTS
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Estonian men qualify for Division 1 Flight A matchplay for first time in country's history
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Spain's men recover from poor start with a -22 aggregate on Day 2 to go 3rd
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France earn number-one seed in Boys' Team Championship after lengthy suspension due to weather
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Defending champs, Spain, earn number-one seed on home soil in Ladies' Team
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Hosts, Austria, qualify for Boys' Flight A for first time since 2011
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Spain look strong for second consecutive girls' title in Sweden
EUROPEAN AMATEUR TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP, ITALY
Germany still look like the team to beat after another scorching hot, but low-scoring day in Northwest Italy.
With all six players former European Boys' Team Championship winners, the German team will be a force to reckon with in the matchplay rounds at Royal Park I Roveri.
A -32 total earned Germany the number-one seed for the matchplay, and a quarter-final encounter with hosts, Italy, who clinched the last Flight A spot on -15.
Estonia (yes the Estonia with just 4000 registered golfers and 7 golf courses) finished the stroke play qualifying with a 26-under-par total. The Estonia team earned their first ever Flight A appearance of any Division 1 Team Championship in style, with the second seed ahead of most of the biggest golfing nations in Europe.
France, who finished 7th on -17, will look to end the Estonian party early on Thursday.
Defending champions, Spain, recovered from their poor start on Tuesday with a -22 second round. An 8-under-par 64 from Pablo Ereño, with a narrow missed birdie chance on 18, led the team's charge up the leaderboard to third place. They'll have a tough day tomorrow however, with Sweden (-18) as opponents in the quarter-finals.
The last quarter-final on Thursday will see Netherlands (-24) take on the most successful team in the competition's history, England (-19).
Jerry Ji (NED) followed up his first round 64 (-8) with a 66 (-6) to earn low individual honours.
Ireland, Scotland and Finland will be the most disappointed teams this evening, missing out on Flight A by four, five and seven shots respectively. Less than one-percent behind Italy's 8th-place aggregate of 705 strokes. The three teams, joined by last year's runners-up, Denmark, will compete to avoid relegation over the remaining three days.
EUROPEAN LADIES' TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP, SPAIN
At the European Ladies Team Championship, the decisive round of the stroke play qualification is in the books. And yes, there was significant movement in the field up to the last moments. However, only one team failed to maintain their position in the top eight: Wales. The Welsh ladies, along with some other teams, were steamrolled by a certain Scandinavian team.
Denmark Slips
But first things first: at the top of the leaderboard, Denmark slipped. Meanwhile, the surging Spanish team showcased their strength. They played the second qualification day with a strong 12-under-par and finished the stroke play phase at -10, securing first place.
Last years’ runner-up England also went low on the second tournament day, finishing the qualification with a cumulative score of -9 strokes, placing them in second. France shook up the leading group late in the day when final player Constance Fouillet signed a low 66, staying 6 strokes under par. In this tightly packed field, that was enough for France to move up three places and finish the qualification at -6 in third place.
Ireland held steady with a score of -5 for this second tournament day and advances to the match play phase in fourth place with a total of -3 strokes. The Danish team, which had started the day as leaders, played at a comparable level to the previous day, but nevertheless fell behind dearly. After completing the last hole of the stroke play phase, the Scandinavians found themselves in fifth place with -2 strokes.
On the Wrong Side of the Fence
Sixth place belongs to the unstoppable Swedish freight train. With 10 strokes under par, the Swedes significantly improved from the previous day and kept all their chances open for the rest of the tournament. Their team score for the stroke play phase is +2. The success is not as clear for the Italians, who finish the qualification as seventh, as they dropped two places. Nevertheless, the Southern Europeans comfortably qualify for the quarterfinals with a total score of +4 strokes.
The eighth and final qualification spot for the hotly contested Flight A was secured by the German team. When final player Christin Eisenbeiss came off the 18th green, they finished with +10 strokes in total. It's not their dream result, but the tough job is definitely done. In any case, Golf Team Germany can look back on a much better day than their Welsh colleagues.
The Welsh ladies are the only team that lost their qualification spot after a top-eight result at the start. Dropping back to +22 strokes and ninth position with +12 on the day.
Individual Ranking
In the individual ranking, the strong Marie Eline Madsen from Denmark played her way forward from sixth place. With a birdie on the last hole and a round score of 7-under-par, she moved past the previously leading Paula Martín Sampedro (Spain) to take the sole lead. Madsen wins the individual ranking with a total of -9 strokes, followed by Martín Sampedro with -8. In third place is Constance Fouillet from Team France, who started the day in 18th place and rewarded both her team and herself with her -6 performance today.
The upcoming quarterfinals will be played in match play format. The defending Spanish champions will face Germany. England will play against Italy. France will take on Sweden, and Ireland has a date with Denmark.
EUROPEAN BOYS' TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP, AUSTRIA
The second day of the European Boys' Team Championship was disrupted with a thunderstorm around noon. That didn't phase the French team however, who carried on their good work from Round 1, to earn the number-one seed on -7.
The absolute highlight of the day, and not just from an English perspective, was Daniel Hayes' round of 65. Hayes, a member of Royal Liverpool GC, commented on the best round of the competition at Diamond Country Club so far: "You have to be strong on this course, especially off the tee, and you have to avoid mistakes. I managed that well today. Another criteria on this course are the greens, which were more receptive after the rain delay."
French coach and tour player Gregory Havret also counts his protégé, Hugo LeGoff among the stars of tomorrow. Havret has been a guest player at the DP World Tour events in Atzenbrugg several times: "The lad is a huge talent and it's incredible to see how good everyone is at this age."
With rounds of 69 and 68 strokes, a total of 7 under par, LeGoff wins the qualifier at the EBTC 2024. LeGoff on his performance: "I stuck to my game plan that we worked out in the practice rounds. I was very good off the tee, which was the key to success."
EBTC 2024: The match for the title starts now
Huge jubilation for the Austrian team led by captain Ben Pesendorfer and Mario Krajnz, who made it into the top-8 and are in the running for the title at their home European Championships. "We set our sights extremely high. In the end, everything worked out just as we had imagined, and that's thanks to the incredible team spirit and cohesion."
Austria's opponents in Round 1 are none other than the defending champions Sweden.
The outstanding player for the Swedes is Neo Berg, who has already won the International German Boys Championship this year: "I was a bit shaky at the start of the round, but I'm happy with my 74 in the end. Now the tournament really begins."
In addition to France, England, Sweden and Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Finland have also qualified for the first flight.
Surprisingly, golfing nations such as Spain and Denmark are not in the fight for the European Championship title, having missed out on the top-8.
Like Italy, the Czech Republic, Norway, Iceland, Wales and Ireland, they are fighting against relegation in the second flight. The Italians were not helped by a top performance from Carlo Roman, who took second place in the singles with a total of 6 under par. Louise Klein's great performance for the Czech team also went unrewarded: 4 under par and a shared third place are probably no consolation for the Czech talent.
EUROPEAN GIRLS' TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP, SWEDEN
Defending champions Spain put themselves in pole position in the European Girls’ Team Championship. The Spaniards finished the stroke play rounds on top, leading France and home team Sweden.
The Swedes had the best start on Tuesday, leading the pack through 18 holes on a demanding golf course. Olivia Holmberg (SWE) signed the lowest score of the day for the crowd’s favorite squad, even though the best individual performance belonged to Nagore Martinez, from Spain, with a 2-under 68.
Last year’s winners retook the lead on day 2, where the whole field face hurrendous playing conditions, with heavy rain and strong winds.
With a 4-under 66, Balma Davalos secured the best individual score over 36 holes, as well as first place for Spain.
Round 2 saw the French team power its way up to second place. Lily Reitter (FRA) and 14-year-old Alice Kong (FRA) made the most of calmer conditions in the afternoon, with a 1-under 69 and a 2-under 68 respectively.
The battle for the top 8 and the Flight A bracket remained tight until twilight. Sweden concluded a difficult day by taking third place, breaking a tie with England. The latter will face number-5 seed Denmark in the quarterfinals, as Germany will be up against the local team. Belgium’s brilliant second round was rewarded with 7th place overall, as 8th-placed Italy will face Spain in a rematch of last year’s final.
