The unique and unbeatable proposition of “Playing With The Pros” came true for one lucky Irishman, Frank Smyth, who qualified to play in South Africa at the Volvo World Golf Challenge.
The event which was held in Durban Country Club recently, gave 67 qualifiers from around the world the opportunity to play with star professionals from the European Tour. Frank qualified as one of the leading seventeen finalists and enjoyed the golfing experience of a lifetime.
The unique and unbeatable proposition of “Playing With The Pros” came true for one lucky Irishman, Frank Smyth, who qualified to play in South Africa at the Volvo World Golf Challenge. The event which was held in Durban Country Club, gave 67 qualifiers from around the world the opportunity to play with star professionals from the European Tour. Frank qualified as one of the leading seventeen finalists and enjoyed the golfing experience of a lifetime.
Now in its third year, the Amateur-Pro Team Competition sees the best placed amateurs from the World Final forming a three-person team with two star Professionals from the European Tour for the day. And whilst the Pros continue to play their own game just as usual in the second round of the Volvo Golf Champions, their scores on each hole are mixed with the handicap score of the amateur for the team event. The best two of the three are then used with the benefit for the amateur that if they have a really bad hole, their score will be dropped. This helps to put them at their ease in an event that is so thrilling that it can often lead to a little stage fright.
Volvo Car Ireland held 30 Qualifiers for the Volvo World Golf Challenge at many prestigious golf courses around Ireland in which over 1500 golfers took part. The National Final took place at Killeen Castle golf course in country Meath where 45 participants took part in what was a hotly contested competition.
The national winners flew to the world final in Durban, South Africa, where they enjoyed:
- The 36-hole World Final played at the Zimbali Country Club Course in Durban.
- The chance to Play With The Pros over the challenging Links Course during the Volvo Golf Champions
- The chance to watch the Volvo Golf Champions up close and rub shoulders with the stars
- The golfing experience of a lifetime
Frank Smyth was lucky enough to play alongside the European Tour Captain José Maria Olazabal and also Marcel Siem in the Amateur-Pro Team Competition.
Frank Symth commented: “To play at the Volvo World Golf Challenge final in Zimbali Golf Resort South Africa was a fantastic experience. However stepping over the ropes to play with Marcel Siem and José Maria Olazabal in an actual European Tour event was simply unbelievable.”
Such is the importance of the competition that Volvo awards each of the two Pros in the winning team a brand new V40 car, a superb prize in its own right. As usual, the competition took place the day after the climax of the Volvo World Golf Challenge. The World Final of this prestigious event had seen 67 national winners from almost 30 countries compete in a 36-hole competition just a short way up the eastern coast of South Africa at the beautiful Zimbali Golf Resort. Making it to the final is a fantastic treat in itself, but the chance of a place in Playing With The Pros is the icing on a very fine cake.
The Volvo Golf Champions is the European Tour’s curtain-raiser and true ‘tournament of champions’. This elite event is open only to proven winners, recent or multiple, and this means that with one amateur teaming up with two Pros, the number of places is strictly limited. This year’s field of Major Champions, Ryder Cup heroes, long-term winners and emerging stars meant that 17 finalists would get to fulfil a dream.
The Volvo World Golf Challenge has evolved into a global event for club golfers which is continuing to grow, year on year. It is truly multi-national, beginning at home and culminating in a celebration of golf at the annual World Final; an event where golfing dreams really do come true.
