Ireland
Italy were crowned European Amateur Team Champions after a comprehensive victory over Denmark in the final at Killarney Golf & Fishing Club on Saturday.
The Italians had battled hard to reach the decider, with a sensational victory over England in the semi-final, and they had all of the momentum coming into the morning foursomes. It ended in a 6-1 victory over the valiant Danes, who claimed the silver medal, with hosts Ireland falling just short of bronze when they lost out to England after a thriller.
But it was the Italians who had enjoyed the biggest celebrations of the day with former professional, and coach Alberto Binaghi thrilled to see his passionate side come out on top. “It’s almost indescribable. We are very, very proud of what we did, especially when we play in Ireland with such a history in golf. To win on this course and to win in such style, because we really played great yesterday against England and very, very good today,” said Binaghi. “Today we were really unstoppable so I am very proud of my team. We really enjoyed every single moment.
“The foursomes this morning really gave us a lot of strength. After 2-0 you have the responsibility of winning so you can feel the pressure but we played so good that we were very convinced that we could do the job.
“Sport has to be like this, in loss and win you have to have passion, obviously when you win you celebrate more but you have to live sport like that, something that is coming from the heart.”
Italy laid the platform for a dominant afternoon when Giovanni Binaghi and Biagio Andrea Gagliardi teamed up for an impressive 5&4 win over Mads Heller and Mads Viemose Larsen.
The other morning foursomes match also went the way of the Italians with Filippo Ponzano and Michele Ferrero accounting for their opponents, Kristian Hjort Bressum and Oscar Valdemar Holm Bredkjaer, on a 3&2 scoreline.
The Danes were still dangerous, having bounced back from a 2-0 deficit against Ireland on Friday to secure their place in the final, but they couldn’t replicate those heroics. Instead, Italy pressed on and Riccardo Fantinelli won the top match 2&1 against Heller. Two more points followed from Ferrero and Ponzano and Italy were crowned champions of Europe.
At the same time, England battled their way to a narrow 4-3 victory over Ireland in the bronze medal match. Charlie Forster’s wonderful pitch on the 19th hole against Caolan Rafferty secured the medal. Elsewhere in Flight A, Sweden beat Finland 3-2 and France got the better of Germany 4.5 to 0.5. In Flight B, there were wins for Switzerland, Poland, and crucially for Iceland, who maintain their position in Division 1 for 2026.
