Team Italy, represented by Captain Andrea Perrino, Nicola Maestroni and Gregory Molteni, clinched the PGA of Italy’s first victory in the CPG International Team Championship [ITC] in resounding fashion.
With the team’s best two 18-hole scores to count in each round, Team Italy’s round-by-round totals of 134, 141 and 141 at Penina Hotel & Golf Resort saw them set an almost unassailable target of 416 [22-under-par] for the rest of the field to try and reach. In the end, their 13-shot victory over Team Germany in second and Team Austria in third was illustrative of their impeccable and consistent performances throughout.
The ITC’s unique team format places emphasis on consistency of performances, ensuring the strongest team of three PGA Professionals from CPG’s 43 Member Countries is found. “Having contributed to the totals on the first two days, I said to the guys it was their turn on the final day” joked Molteni. “Whilst I played well personally, as a collective we were phenomenal this week.”
On the team’s initial reaction to the win, Maestroni commented: “We are obviously delighted by this victory, and for me personally to share it with my friends is fantastic. There is no doubt we will be celebrating over the coming days as we bring the trophy back to Italy.”
Yet despite the initial and inevitable jubilations, team captain Andrea Perrino was quick to recognise the wider significance of this win for golf in Italy: “We really hope this win will put golf on TV screens and on the front of newspapers and across the wider media landscape. We have had tremendous success in other sports like football, but its popularity is more widespread than golf right now. This result can convince many people that golf is a sport for them.”
In the Team Shield – an event that runs alongside the ITC that is specifically for CPG’s smaller Member Country PGAs with 100 members or less – Team Slovakia [Juraj Zvarik, Jan Keher and Adam Puchmelter] defended the title that they won in 2019 in comprehensive fashion, pipping runners-up Team Poland with a final score total of 437 [one-under-par].
For more information visit the Tournament Hub Page https://cp.golf/2021ITC. For more information on the CPG visit cpg.golf, or find the CPG on Twitter (@cpg_golf), Facebook (@cpg.golf), LinkedIn, Instagram (@cpg_golf) and Anchor.fm.
