Double triumph for PGA Golf Pro Benjamin Miarka: the 28-year old-from Hannover not only celebrated victory at the Fulda EPD Tour Championship on Sunday afternoon, but his triumph also secured him 1st place in the overall 2010 EDP Tour rankings. Along with Miarka, Max Kramer from Frankfurt, Daniel Wünsche from Gilching near Munich, Englishman Grant Jackson and Tim Sluiter from the Netherlands all made it into the top 5 of the final ranking of the EPD Tour Order of Merit, securing their place in the 2011 Challenge Tour.

by Matthias Lettenbichler and Stefan Heigl (pictures)

Hünfeld bei Fulda – The rankings before the last tournament of the 2010 season made for an exciting event and in the end it was Benjamin Miarka who confidently took the title at the Fulda EPD Tour Championship and also claimed overall victory for the 2010 season. At 12 under par and with rounds of 65, 72 and 67, he led the competition at Hofgut Praforst in Hünfeld near Fulda from the 1st round and relegated Florian Fritsch from Neckargemünd to 2nd place in the tournament (69, 71, 68/-8), and Englishman Ben Parker to 3rd (73, 66, 70/-7).

With accurate driving and strong putting even from a distance, Miarka played particularly impressively in rounds 1 and 3, with play being hampered by persistent rain on day 2. „I had decided that I was going to win this tournament and of course I’m delighted to have not only made my come-back on the Challenge Tour perfect but also to have come out on top in the overall rankings“, said Miarka, who also played on the 2007, 2008 and 2009 Challenge Tour. „My game was better and more consistent every day“, he said,  describing the self-confidence that he exuded in Fulda from day one – Miarka was in control of the situation at all times. He now wants to carry this confidence on to Stage 2 of the Qualifying School of  European Tour at the end of November in Spain, which is the next event on his tournament calendar.

Although Miarka secured a clear victory in Hünfeld, the battle for the five qualifying positions for the Challenge Tour 2011 was an exciting one, right up until the very last putt. For a long time it seemed as though Marcel Haremza from Dießen am Ammersee was on route to record victory which would have meant a rise from his current 10th position in the rankings and a top 5 position finish. The Dutchman Jurrian van der Vaart and Tiago Cruz from Portugal were also well positioned in the competition up until the last holes. With a total prize fund of €40 000, the Fulda EPD Tour Championship is the highest cash prize competition of the season – securing a top 3 position would automatically mean a jump up the player rankings.

Top 5 competition

The final rankings after the competition showed that the top 5 positions had changed but not their names: the previous number 4, Benjamin Miarka, claimed victory and shot to number 1 taking home the €6099 prize money. Florian Fritsch came in 2nd receiving €3526 but no longer had the chance to battle it out for a top position in the rankings – after taking part in just two competitions this year, Fritsch secured a win and a 2nd place, leaving him in 21st position in the overall rankings. The best attempt at a qualifying position was made by Englishman Ben Parker who won €2055 after finishing 3rd, therefore moving him up from 11th to 9th position in the overall rankings. He would have had to secure a victory in order to have pushed up into the top 5.

This meant that Max Kramer, who was at the top of the EPD Tour Order of Merit leader board up until the Fulda EPD Tour Championship, fell by only one place. The same was true for Daniel Wünsche, ranked second until now, even though he had to retire due to injury in the 3^rd round. Grant Jackson managed 23rd place and only fell from 3rd to 4th overall. Tim Sluiter (Netherlands) managed to fight off the challenge from his closest ranking competitor with a solid 4th place.

The season finale was particularly disappointing for Dennis Küpper (GC Düsseldorf-Grafenberg), who entered the leader board at 6th place in Hünfeld and wanted to move up at least one place at all costs. In the end however, with rounds of 79, 78 and 74, he even fell back behind the Dutch player Jurrian van der Vaart to 7th place. Whether a player finishes the season at 6th or 7th place can still make a big difference: for every top 5 qualifier of the EPD Tour who reaches the final stage of the qualifying school and survives the cut after 4 of 6 rounds, another player from the final EPD Tour Order of Merit 2010 will reach the Challenge Tour 2011, meaning the 2010 golf season will remain exciting.

Hünfeld near Fulda/Germany (mat) – German PGA Golfprofessionals Nicolas Meitinger (picture above) and Benjamin Miarka share the lead after two rounds of the Fulda EPD Tour Championship, the final tournament of the 2010 season. With 7 under par they are one shot ahead of Matthew Dearden from Wales and will both play a decisice role concerning the five top positions.

Hünfeld near Fulda/Germany (mat) – This week all attention is turning to the Fulda EPD Tour Championship, the last tournament of the 2010 season. On Sunday afternoon decision about the five tickets to the 2011 Challenge Tour will be completed. More than five players have a realistic chance to gain one of the top 5 positions in a last-minute-attack.

The winner alone pockets € 6,099. Second place takes home € 3,526.40, with third place being rewarded with € 2,055.80. In purely mathematical terms, it is possible for Maximilian Glauert, currently lying in 15th position in the EPD Tour Order of Merit and who finished 3rd in Northeim, to push into the top 5 of the final tour rankings with a victory in Hünfeld. Realistically, the top 10 positions in the rankings are still in the hunt for one of the Challenge Tour places. Marcel Harezma is currently in 10th place. "I am going to try my best to take the victory in Hünhfeld as well," says Sluiter. "Who knows - maybe I can even win the whole championship." That scenario is also still possible, mathematically at least. It will definitely be a question of nerves in terms of who performs well at the Fulda EPD Tour Championship 2010, and who guarantees a ticket for the 2011 Challenge Tour.