Sweden
The fourth day of the Senior Men's Team Championship at PGA Sweden National, saw heavy rain but calm winds, much like the previous days of the tournament. The four semi-finalists, Denmark, Scotland, England and Ireland, competed for a place in the finals.
Surprising Denmark gains historic spot in the finals
Denmark had a 10th place at its best in the history of this competition. By winning 3.5–1.5 against Scotland, the team now secured a historic medal. One of the key players was the runner-up in the qualifications, Hans Peter Jacobsen, who defeated the top qualified player Ronnie Clark with 3/2.
"It was a tight and good match with small margins, but it was decided when I made three birdies in a row on holes 11, 12 and 13. I went to dormy at hole 14 and finally won 3/2”, said Hans Peter Jacobsen.
Even though the scots won the foursome match with 2/1, it was not enough since Tony Jensen won 4/2 over Stewart Henderson and Michael C Flindt with 1/0 against Graham Bell.
Denmark's captain, Hans Stenderup, was very pleased with his players and thrilled with the final spot:
"This is historic for Danish golf. This is the first time we have reached Flight A in the European Senior Men's Team Championship and now we are in the finals. We are hoping for a tight game tomorrow. Ireland are the favourites but we will give them a match”
Ireland beat England 4–1
The second semi-final saw two of the favorites coming into the championship, a game that Ireland won with 4–1 over England. Two matches were settled early. Ireland's Jim Carvill, defeated Bryan Hughes (who made a Hole-in-One on the first day) with 6/5, and Adrian Morrow won over Ian Crowther with 5/4. When John Mitchell and Eamon Haugh beat Alan Mew and Mark Stones in the foursome with 3/2, the case was closed.
“The course conditions are very good despite the weather. Especially the greens are very good and true. We are looking forward to playing against Denmark in the finals tomorrow. They must be in good form since they beat Scotland today" , said four satisfied Irish players after the successful semi-final.
Ireland's team captain Sean O'Leary was happy with his players after today's win:
“Hard work and a good attitude won us the semi-final today. The course has given us different conditions every day with wind and rain, so we have had to adapt. We look forward to playing against Denmark tomorrow and are not complacent with a second place", said O’Leary.
Germany and Norway will compete for fifth place
The home team Sweden was revamped after a tight loss in the quarter final. The goal now was to win over Germany and beat their own results from last year where they finished seventh. It was another tight game, but finally Germany drew the longest straw by winning 3–2. Tomorrow they will compete against Norway in the fifth-place match. Norway won against Spain after a close game where the foursome match went all the way to the 21st hole.
Source: Susanne Persson, Communications Manager, Swedish Golf Federation
