The PGA of Italy’s Federico Elli maintained his two shot overnight lead to claim the inaugural Messinia Pro-Am organised by Costa Navarino in Greece.
“I feel so good. I played a solid round [today], except the last three holes where my heart rate went up a bit,” said the Italian, who shot a final round of 72 (+1), to finish with a three-round total of 205 (-8).
“I was looking at Ralph [Miller] often, because he was playing in front of me…I saw that he had a bogey on the 18th, and then my heart rate went a bit lower.”
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Elli is looking to use the victory as a springboard into the rest of the season: “I go to London in one month and proceed with some events on the Alps Tour and of course other Confederation of Professional Golf Pro-Ams.
“Costa Navarino is always a top place to be…a wonderful hotel, wonderful golf course and all the staff are brilliant. I think this is one of the best spots for a golfing holiday…we will come back for sure next year.”
Chasing the winner all the way and only two shots back, was Ralph Miller of the PGA of Holland.
“I didn’t play all that great today – I struggled on the greens and shot one-over eventually, but overall a great feeling for the week,” said Miller, who finished on six-under (207).
“I feel pretty good, especially as it’s the first tournament of the year,” he added. “We had snow last week in Holland, so it’s good to be out here in the sun, hitting balls and putting on normal greens…for me it’s just a vacation!
“It has been a fun week…the area is beautiful. Beautiful views and weather, friendly people…and both courses are very good.”
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Like Elli, Miller is hoping to use the good performance as a confidence boost for the remainder of the year: “I’m going to play some events back home [in Holland] and some international events…and maybe try out for the British Open Qualifier…It is always good to be out early and seeing how your game is, so you know what to work on.”
In third place was Lorenzo Gagli (PGA of Italy), who had the best round of the day with a four-under round 67, finishing with a total of 209 (-4). The Italian continues his recent good form, after having won the Lumine International Pro-Am and coming third in the Confederation of Professional Golf Fourball Championship.
The Team Pro-Am Competition was won by the quartet of PGA of Great Britain & Ireland Professional, Stuart Boyle, and amateurs, Haris Papadopoulos, Georgios Kyvernitis and Daniele Bovio [picture above].
The team led after Round 02 and were not for catching, concluding with an 84 point (-12) round, to leave them on 263 points (-47) for the tournament.
Their closest pursuers were the team led by Steve Dooley (PGA of Austria), who were seven points adrift on 256 points (-40) and Team Mejow (PGA of Germany) a further ten points behind.
For Full Final Scores Visit http://eur.pe/2017Messinia
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For more information visit the Tournament Hub Page (http://eur.pe/2017Messinia) and messiniaproam.costanavarino.com, follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter and search the hashtag ‘#MessiniaProAm’, and like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.
Find out more about Costa Navarino at www.costanavarino.com.
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