German Nicolas Meitinger wins and dives in Belek

The 25 year old from Cologne surfs to victory in style at the Montgomerie Classic in Turkey and secures himself the trophy with an eight stroke margin over his fellow countryman Bernd Ritthammer and Thomas de Kesel from Belgium who both share 2nd place with 3 over par

by Matthias Lettenbichler

Belek/Turkey – „This is definitely my best start into a season since many years“, Nicolas Meitinger said facing the winner’s trophy of the 30,000 euro tournament. With rounds of 70, 69 and 72 strokes the PGA golf professional from Cologne/Germany had claimed victory in such a demanding manner that his opponents could do nothing but stand aside and applause in pure admiration.

On the 1st day Thomas de Kesel from Belgium had been able to keep up with Meitinger, both managed the par 72 Montgomerie Course of the Papillon Golf Resort in Belek/Turkey with rounds of 70 what got them three shots clear of the field. But after 36 holes there was only one man left reigning, 25 year old Nico Meitinger, No. 46 of last Decembers Qualifying School and playing with Category 7 on the 2010 Challenge Tour.

Right in time he had his game ready for the tremendous design of the Montgomerie Course, a piece of land that demands accurate shots into the green as these are wide and artfully undulated. “You need to be able to play on the right side of the green to have some realistic opportunities to make a birdie here”, Meitinger analyzed. And he was able to do so, especially on the 2nd day when the wind calmed down a little bit and Meitinger made four birdies in a row from hole 13 to 16 coming back to the clubhouse with the new course record 69.

New course record

With a 5 stroke margin over de Kesel Nico Meitinger went into the final round on Saturday and not for one minute he gave up control, but surfed to victory in style when he finished 5 under par, 8 strokes ahead of his Countryman Bernd Ritthammer (76, 72, 72/+3) and Thomas de Kesel (70+74+75/+3).

And even the last act of this 3rd event of the 2010 RENAULT EPD Tour season Meitinger completely kept under control, when he jumped into the greenside lake avoiding to be thrown into the chilly water by his colleagues. A cold but likewise pleasant swim that soaked his pocket with some 4814 euro prize money and the probably much more important knowledge to go well prepared into the 2010 season. “I had no major break between the last and this season, I practiced in December and started again in January and obviously this pays off now”, Meitinger said.

The Montgomerie Classic was the 3rd event of the 2010 RENAULT EDP Tour season and even the 3rd tournament of the 2010 Winter Series that compounds 7 events in total. The 4th and last in Turkey – the other three take place in Morocco – will be teed off on Tuesday when players start measuring their skills at the Lykia Links Classic. German professional Dennis Kuepper is the defending champion, he missed the cut at the Montgomerie Classic and will quite motivated. But most likely also Meitinger will try to get some more travel money for the Challenge Tour. And watch out: He will probably have a very strong second day again: it’s his 26th birthday on Wednesday!

Montgomerie: Advantage Meitinger & de Kesel

The Montgomerie Course of the Papillon Golf Club in Belek/Turkey turned out to be a cruel monster on the 1st day of the Montgomerie Classic tournament

Belek/Turkey (mat) – Shooting in the 80ies on one of the first two days of an EPD Tour tournament usually means to most probably get the last day of the tournament off. To get some time to practice as one of cuts victims on the Driving Range whilst colleagues play for money on the golf course. Not so at the Montgomerie Classic in Belek/Turkey, where the RENAULT EPD Tour plays its third tournament of the season these days.

Coming back to the clubhouse with 80 strokes on the scorecard on Thursday means having a good chance to make the cut of the top 40 today! 80 strokes turned out as position 43 after the 1st round, and among them finding themselves on this place are names as the one of multiple tournament winner Marcel Haremza or Christoph Günther, the latter a winner even on the 2009 Challenge Tour. This should be proof enough that the Montgomerie course turned out to be a cruel monster on the 1st day of the 30,000 euro tournament.

Two players that obviously came a lot better along with the challenging layout, the blistering winds and the fast greens than the rest of the field are Thomas de Kesel from Belgium and German professional Nicolas Meitinger. After 18 holes they both share 1st place with 2 under par having finished their opening rounds with 70 shots each.

The field teed off at 8:30 today, and everyone having at least played in the 80ties yesterday should have a realistic chance to improve into the top 40 that will have the right to play for money on Saturday.