An International Golf Tournament Reaches Its Climax
The 2nd Aegean Airlines Pro-Am reached its climax on 3rd June which saw the final round of the 36-hole event being played at the Crete Golf Club. The event was again endorsed by the PGAs of Europe, PGA of Greece, the Hellenic Golf Federation and was held in co-operation with the Crete Golf Club. This year the 45 teams that participated faced stiff competition not only from one another but also from the challenging Crete Golf Club. The winner professional of the 2nd Aegean Airlines Pro-Am 2007 was Mr Henrik Engdahl from the Swiss Glasrikets Golf Club, the second place was tied between Mr Thanasis Karatzias from the Golf Club of Gfyfada, Greece and Mr Tony Price from Golf Club d’Alsace, France. The professionals shared the prize purse of €60,000 euros.
The winning teams were all from golf clubs in Greece; in the first place was Golf Club Afandou, Rhodes with Mr Gerd Schlembach as the professional player, the second place went to the team of Mr George Ginis, professional and president of the PGA of Greece and the third to Mr Adam Sofroni’s team from Glyfada Golf Course.
The prize-giving ceremony was held on the evening of 3rd June and was very well attended. The Minister of Tourism of Greece, Mrs Fanni Palli-Petralia welcomed all the participants, the President of the Organising Committee of the Aegean Airlines Pro-Am and of the airline itself, Mr Theodore Vassilakis, and the President of the PGAs of Europe , Mr Ken Schofield also addressed the guests.
Now in its second year, the Aegean Airlines Pro-Am, is fast becoming one of the most anticipated events in the PGAs of Europe calendar and it acts as a catalyst for the promotion of golf to Greek fans. It was announced on 3rd June by the Minister of Tourism of Greece that our country is soon to become a competitive golf destination as there are 16 golf courses of international standard being completed in the next couple of years.
This year the Pro-Am attracted teams from 16 countries namely from Greece, Cyprus, Germany, Ireland, England, Italy, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Turkey, Israel, Portugal, Holland and UAE. This year the Pro-Am hosted Ian Wright, the former Arsenal and England national, and his golf team. The manager of Ian Wright, Mr George Gros won a prize for “closest to the pin” for a shot on the second day of the event.
It is worth mentioning that €12,000 euros were donated to Iliaxtida, a local trust based in Crete. Iliaxtida was founded in 1992 by a group of concerned citizens in Heraklion, in order to offer their support, both financial and psychological, to families with children suffering from cancer.
The 2nd Aegean Airlines sponsors included Aegean Airlines, Navarino Resorts, Alpha Bank-American Express Cards, Authellas-Hertz, Maris Hotels, Athens International Airport, Vacar-Saab, Coca Cola Hellas, Prefecture of Crete, Ministry of Tourism and PUMA. Communication sponsor was NET – the Greek National TV and Radio.
For second year running, presenting sponsor of the 2nd Aegean Airlines Pro-Am is Navarino Resorts situated in Messinia, Peloponnese in a location of outstanding natural beauty, history and culture. Upon their completion in 2009, the Navarino Resorts will consist of four independent holiday resorts of 10,000sq metres with five kilometres of sea frontage.
