Cover image: FFGolf/ Lucas Hélin
European Amateur Team Championship - Royal Waterloo Golf Club, Belgium
Recently crowned European Amateur Champion, José Luis Ballester, kept up his good form at Royal Waterloo in the stroke play qualifying rounds of the European Amateur Team Championship. The Spaniard fired rounds of 65 (-7) and 68 (-4) to finish as the low individual qualifier, helping put the defending champions in an excellent position heading into the match play rounds.
Only Denmark, the 2021 champions, finished above Spain in the Stroke play rounds. With an aggregate of -32, the Danish side finished three strokes ahead of their nearest challengers.
Despite earning the number-one seed, the quarter-finals will be anything but straightforward for the Danes, who will lineup against Sweden in the top match on Thursday.
Spain (-29) will face 7th placed finishers, Italy (-16) in the quarter-finals, while England (-27) take on the Netherlands, who finished on -17.
The last quarter-final on Thursday will see 4th-placed Ireland (-23) go head-to-head with France (-20). Flight A is packed with big, and typically strong, golfing nations, although Germany is one name that will be absent from Thursday's medal-contention matches.
The German side could only manage 13th in the stroke play qualifying and will fight to avoid relegation in Flight B.
STROKE PLAY SCORES - EUROPEAN AMATEUR TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
European Ladies' Team Championship - Tawast Golf & Country Club, Finland
Sweden have established themselves as the team to beat in Finland, reaching an impressive 44-under-par aggregate score after two rounds of stroke play qualifying.
Led by Meja Örtengren, who carded rounds of 66 (-6) and 65 (-7), the Swedish team earned the number-one seed by a significant margin, 14 shots ahead of their closest challengers, Germany. Sweden will take on Switzerland, who clinched the last spot in Flight A on +3 by a single stroke, in the first quarter-final match on Thursday.
Earning the second-seed on -30, the German team will face France (+2) in the quarter-finals, while Spain (-29) have earned a match with the Czech Republic (-2).
The second quarter-final match on Thursday is set to be a tight one, with England (-15) taking on Ireland (-13). The winner will likely have to face Sweden in the semi-finals, unless the Swiss can cause what would likely be the biggest upset of the week.
STROKE PLAY SCORES - EUROPEAN LADIES' TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
European Boys' Team Championship - Golf de Genève, Switzerland
A superb second day of qualifying from England saw them secure the top seed heading into the match play.
They had trailed overnight leaders Spain by eleven shots after day one, but an amateur course record breaking 65 (-7) from Kris Kim (ENG) led them to the top of the standings.
Kim’s impressive second round saw him share top spot on the individual leaderboard alongside Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson (SWE) on -9.
Hosts Switzerland will be England’s opponents on Thursday. Despite sitting second on the leaderboard at the halfway stage of the stroke play qualifying, the Swiss team weren't as solid on Wednesday and very nearly dropped their place in the top-8. They would ultimately earn the final ticket to Flight A on +10, a single stroke ahead of Ireland.
Second in the team standings were Sweden, with Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson leading their charge. WIth the number-two seed, they'll face the Czech Republic in the first match play round.
Spain, who had led by seven shots after day one, dropped back into third and will face a tough quarter-final match up with defending champions, Germany.
The final match in flight A will see France take on Italy.
STROKE PLAY SCORES - EUROPEAN BOYS' TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
European Girls' Team Championship - Golf d'Hossegor, France
The two rounds of stroke play are in the books in Hossegor, for the 2023 edition of the European Girls’ Team Championship. Phase one of the tournament ended up on Wednesday with an impressive Spanish team at first place, and a fierce battle to grab a spot in the top 8.
Spain concluded round 1 on Tuesday at the top of the leaderboard, with Rocio Tejedo signing a 3-under 68 in the morning. But with a total of -1 for the day, the Spanish team only held a one-shot advantage over the Netherlands, who a 68 of their own from Fleur Van Beek. But they shifted up a gear on round 2, going as low as -8 for the day, and -9 for the championship. Cloe Amion set the tone in the morning, shooting a 68 of her own.
Spain kept pushing all day long, with 69s for Rocio Tejedo and Anna Cañado. The Spaniards will meet Ireland in the first quarter final on Thursday. The Irish team got the last spot in the Flight A bracket, eventually edging Germany, who fought back after a disappointing round 1, but fell six shots short.
standing at fourth place at the end of round 1, Sweden gained two spots on Wednesday, playing even par for the round. Nora Sunberg shot the lowest score overall on day 1, with a 6-under 65, paving the way for the best individual performance over 36 holes.
England will be Sweden’s opponent in the quarter finals, as Denmark will be facing defending champions France. The local team ended up in third place, helped by cards of 69 and 68 signed by one of the team’s rookies, Valentine Delon.
The fourth quarter final will be a matchup between the Netherlands and Italy. The Dutch played solid golf on day 1, but had to give up two spots on day 2. They still edged the Italians by 8 shots.
The tournament will go to a totally different configuration on Thursday, with the competition switching to match play. Mental strength and team spirit will be needed to remain in the race for medals.