The name ‘Andy Nemiroff ‘ was not well known to many in the large multi-national field before the start in Antalya…but it was the one on top of the leaderboard at the end of the end of a 54 tough holes when the Turkish weatherman turned down the temperature control.
Nemiroff was, in fact, the first member of the small PGA of Israel, where he is one of fewer than twelve playing members, to claim the limelight in a Confederation of Professional Golf-endorsed event but one, whom it transpired, was not new to experiencing that winning feeling.
Having moved from Canada to the Middle-east in 2001 to concentrate more on teaching than playing his CV revealed that in his career, first as an outstanding junior amateur and then as a pro with playing success as his aim, he has played in excess of a hundred tournaments including representing both Canada and Israel internationally and the winning of three Maccabiah Games Gold Medals.
Those contestants from Central and Northern Europe who headed South to escape the cold and to seek some sunshine succeeded with the latter but found that an icy blast from the frozen, snow-covered mountains in the background discovered that the anticipated warmth had been replaced by a teeth-chattering chill.
With scoring tough on The Pasha, and tougher still on the PGA-branded Sultan course, birdies were few and far between as were sub-par, or even level-par, rounds. This meant that the only score of below 70, Nemiroff’s second round 69, saw him home despite a final round 73 for a three-round, three-over par total of 217.
The head professional at the Savyon Academy in Israel dropped two strokes on the front nine but held fast with seven pars, a bogey and a birdie along the finishing straight for a three-shot lead over runner-up Fabian Hahn of Germany. Italy’s Giorgio Grillo was third, one shot further back.
After the opening two rounds a Turkish challenge promised to materialise as Bulent Karatas shared the lead with him but, like the packed field behind him, he was unable to find find the necessary birdies while stemming the flow of dropped shots.
Final Scores….Click Here
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